Daughter of Lightning: Tale of the Defender
by Lady Jade Scribbler
Summary: Alex Potter used to think she was just a normal girl. But then she found out she was a witch. Now, shortly before her thirteenth birthday, she's discovering an entirely new side to herself. She's a demigod and belongs partly to yet another world; one with monsters, gods, and vengeful titans. What will happen? With so many twists and turns, an interesting life is a given. Fem Harry!
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Another idea I thought I'd try out. I'm only just now reading Lightning Thief, though I know the general outline of the rest of the PJO series so far. This in mind, I'm really sorry if I make any stupid mistakes in spelling or continuity. Oh, and to those who've read _Nova,_ I'm really sorry about the defence/offence goof I made when Scott and Rose were fighting Duncan Matthews. I meant to say that Scott is the offensive fighter and Rose the defensive with non-mutants. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this fic. As I'm still familiarising myself with the Percy Jackson series, it'll be a long work in progress. But I'll try to update all my stories as fast as I can. To all who like my other stories, I'm really sorry for putting them on the back burner. But I think _Nova_ and _Tale of the Defender,_ along with my revision of _The Outcasts Who Lived,_ will be my main priorities for now. Anyway, here's my story. Enjoy!

Daughter of Lightning: Tale of the Defender

Chapter One: New Possibilities

"Hermione, will you shut up about reading already?" I groaned. I love my friend like a sister and I knew then that she had just gotten out of the hospital wing but _really._ Sometimes, she was just too much. I loathe reading and she knows that. But, then again, she didn't know _why_ I do. "We don't even have exams this year."

"Alexandria, please. I've been petrified for _months._ Oh, I just know that I've missed _loads."_ she fretted. The girl worried too much. She was practically a genius.

"You're brilliant, Mione. You don't need to prove that to us. Come on, it's a nice day outside." red-haired Ron Weasley, my other best friend, tempted her.

"That's sweet of you, Ron, but no. Look, I'm going to catch up with everybody else and _you're_ going to help me. I got all these books from the library and we can all read some. Then, we can meet with each other and summarise. Won't that be fun?" said Hermione with enthusiasm.

"No." both Ron and I said together.

"You guys really need to put forth a bit more effort in your studies. Come on. Do it for me?" Hermione begged.

"Okay." Ron sighed.

"For a little while." I caved. Damn her, she knows how to get to us. But, an hour later, I was really cursing her. My eyes swam with the effort of focusing on the page, the letters levitated off it and danced mockingly. At least, that's what it seemed like to me.

"Can we stop now?" I asked. I sounded whiny, I knew, but I didn't really care.

"It's barely been an hour, Alexandria." Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Yeah but I _hate_ reading." I said grumpily.

"Why? Why do you hate reading so much? It's _not_ that hard, you know." Hermione huffed. I scowled and threw the heavy book Hermione had given me onto the table. She squeaked in indignation but I ignored her. Ron backed up like any smart guy would do and let us girls duke it out without his input.

"Sure." I drawled sarcastically, letting out my cold and cutting side. "Of _course_ it's not hard for _you._ You've just got to read any little thing you get your hands on, don't you? And you expect _everyone_ who bothers befriending you to be the same. Don't you?"

"But I..." Hermione said softly, looking like she was about to cry. I deflated immediately.

"Look. I'm sorry for being so mean. But I'm just saying that not everyone takes to reading like you do." I said softly, giving her a quick hug.

"But why? Why or how is reading so hard for you?" she asked quietly. I sighed and motioned Ron to join us again.

"Fine, I'll tell you. It's just... well... it's really embarrassing." I blushed.

"What. It's not like you _can't_ read or something... is it?" Ron asked tactlessly. I punched him in the shoulder. "Ow. That hurt, Alex."

"Ignore him, _Alexandria."_ Hermione said, emphasising my actual name. Sometimes, people like to call me Alex. If not Alex, I get called Lilium, my middle name. It's a way to help me feel a bit more connected to my mum, I guess, as her name was Lily. Hermione's the only one who actually calls me Alexandria on a regular basis. Maybe it's because my full name is also synonymous with an ancient library. At the time, I thought it funny that a dyslexic girl was named for such a thing. But I would later learn it also meant "defender of mankind." "You can tell us."

"Fine. Well... the thing is... iamdyslexicsogoonandlaughatm enow." I blurted.

"Sorry," Ron said, "I didn't quite catch that." I shook my head and calmed myself. My right hand twirled a strand of my wavy black hair whilst my left clutched the worn edge of the wooden table.

"I... I'm dyslexic, okay. Go on, you can laugh at me now. I'm sure you'd love too." I said a little bitterly, remembering all the kids at all the schools I'd attended from reception to year six who would laugh at the way I read or spelled.

"Why would we laugh at you?" Hermione asked gently, reciprocating the hug I'd given her earlier.

"Everyone else did. At Muggle school, I mean." I confided.

"What's dyslexia?" Ron asked. I rolled my eyes at his ignorance of Muggle concepts.

"Dyslexia..." Hermione started but I cut her off.

"Is a condition where someone has trouble reading. The letters get all jumbled and it's really hard to focus. Generally, people with dyslexia, like me, have a lot of trouble spelling, reading, and writing. It's really hard to do anything print related. For me, it's like the letters are floating off the page and dancing mockingly in front of my eyes, never letting me focus on them." I explained.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell any of the professors? Oh, I should've seen it before now. Nearly two years of school and I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Alexandria. I should've been supporting you, not badgering you to read more or faster or fix your spelling and your penmanship. I'm really, _really_ sorry." Hermione cried.

"S'not your fault. I deliberately hid it from you because... well... all the other kids, at least in Muggle school, made fun of me because I couldn't read well. I guess I was just afraid of that happening again." I sighed.

"Erm... Alex... I'm really sorry about the not being able to read comment. I didn't know." Ron said, shifting awkwardly.

"It's okay, Ron, seriously." I said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay. But still..." he trailed off.

"I know. But, since I'm spilling my guts to you anyway, I might as well continue. The dyslexia isn't helped any because I have ADHD. Before you ask, Ron, that stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. People with ADHD have really short attention spans and can't focus on things for long. Sometimes, we tend to miss things that other people might notice. I'm no acception. That's why I never can sit still for long, why I always fidget. And I'm impulsive, just as others like me are." I shrugged. Ha, "others like me". Funny how I could say stuff like that and have the meaning be so much more than I knew.

"We'll never laugh at you, mate." Ron assured. For all his tactlessness, he was a good friend.

"I really wish you'd told us, though." Hermione added.

"Again, I'm sorry for not telling you guys this. I guess I'm still in the mentality that everyone's gonna laugh at me. Hogwarts is the first time I've stayed at a school for more than one year. In year five, we took a trip to the zoo. I kinda found the control panel and switched the emergency release lever. All the animals were set loose. In year four, I accidentally blew up the chemistry lab in the secondary level wing at the school I was sent to. In year three, I chucked my lunchbox at a kid's head. It missed and somehow broke the glass of the jellyfish tank at the aquarium we were in. You get the picture." I shrugged. I didn't dare tell them about year six, the spring before I started Hogwarts to be exact. All year 6 classes were visiting the Tower of London for a day. I got busted for socking Eustace Flemming, this fat, lardy kid who was always shoving people and stealing their food. He'd just taken the apple from this frail kid, Clover or Grover or something, and shoved him over. He tried to shove me but I decked him in the nose. I didn't care that he was the headmaster's kid. I wouldn't stand for bullying of any sort. And it helped that what's-his-name was a pretty nice kid.

But Mrs. McGie, whose class the three of us were in, thought the dough ball, Flemming, was an angel. I hated her. She was this freaky lady who wore flowing white dresses and some sort of white religious wrap or whatever that covered her head and most of her face, along with black sunglasses to cover her eyes. She pulled me aside, leading me into the tower. A guard came into the room and told us we weren't supposed to be there without a tour guide. Mrs. McGie lifted her sunglasses and the bloke was immediately statue-fied.

I knew enough of Greek mythology, even if I didn't believe it, to realise that looking into her eyes was bad. She lunged for me but I grabbed her arms. I felt this buzzing, sizzling sensation and she lit up like a firecracker before exploding in gold dust. I remember flying back and hitting my head on something.

Next thing I know, this thin old bloke is asking if I'm all right. When I asked who he was, he reminded me that he was my teacher, Mr. Tanner. It seemed like everyone had forgotten about Mrs. McGie and was certain that Mr. Tanner was our teacher. Everyone, that is, except the gimpy kid. But he tried to act like everyone else. Underfoot or Underwood or whatever his name was sucked at lying convincingly. Before I could confront him, I was being sent home. I had been expelled, _again._ The headmaster, shock shock, didn't take too kindly to me slugging his precious son.

So you can guess why I didn't want to tell my friends this. I'd sound like a nutter. But I didn't have much more time to think about that. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ron's somewhat awed voice.

"Blimey." he breathed.

"You're just a magnet for trouble, aren't you?" Hermione said with a fond smile. It was a look like she'd give to an unruly younger sister. I grinned at both of them, glad that nothing would change. They were my friends and nothing could tear us apart. At least, that's what I thought.

A few short days later, I was at my so-called home and wishing that I was still with my friends. My aunt and uncle were getting on my nerves more than usual so I sequestered myself in my room as soon as dinner was over. Ugh, I really needed to blow off some steam about then. The only way I could think to do so was if I went for a walk. The sun was setting but that never stopped me before. I am, if anything, a creature of the night. Darkness... well... I don't know if it _comforts_ me exactly but it's tranquil. I love looking upon the sky in all its velvety blackness, the diamond-like pinpricks of stars glittering high above, a crescent moon allowing dappled silver light to bend around the shadows and slide its way through branches like in the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. The only thing more invigorating to me than a beautiful, clear night is a thunderstorm. There's just something about them. The smell of the rain, the comforting rumble of thunder, the illumination brought by lightning. I know now why I love that so much but I certainly didn't then.

It's not like the Dursleys mind me walking around the neighbourhood anyway. If they had their way, I'd get myself eaten by something on one of my nighttime jaunts. But at least the neighbours stay away from me. They all think I'm some sort of deranged lunatic, not that I care. I guess I am, in some respects. I've been sent off to various schools since I was seven. Things are always happening to me. I've got a fiery temper which usually simmers just under the surface before erupting. Then again, whenever I'm faced with blatant stupidity or someone insults people I care about, it surfaces right away. But I don't care what the people in this fake little town think about me. And so I go walking.

Changing into something a bit warmer, I looked into the mirror. I couldn't help but scowl at my reflection. I was tiny for a girl of my age, I looked a little past eleven at best. The thing that sucked about that is that I was turning thirteen at the end of July. My skin is naturally fair and my hair long and raven, shot through with streaks of my mother's dark red. Everyone said that I look so much like my father, James Potter. I never really thought about how little I could be said to resemble him then. I was desperate to cling to any tenuous connection to my parents through whatever means possible, even my looks. But I now realise and accept that I never looked like him at all. My face at that time was angular, much like it still is today, but back then I had a certain amount of softness, a sort of roundness to it that made me look more innocent. James Potter didn't have a face like mine. Then, there's my hair. James Potter had very dark brown hair which might be mistaken for black on occasion. However, my hair is as black as a raven's wing, shot through with dark red strands, and I knew from my photo album, even if I didn't think much on it then, that it didn't come from my parents or grandparents. It didn't have the unruly quality that signified the Potter hair either. Admittedly, my hair does have some curl to it which tends to become more noticeable whenever I grow angry. Even then, however, the texture is nothing like James Potter's. On top of this, I can, even now, only pick out a few things from my mother. My nose, my eyes, my stature... once I grew up a bit. It was my belief, even then, that people only saw what they wanted to see. I swiped an arrant strand of hair off my forehead and my eyes, as bright green as my mother's were, glanced at the scar which had been there since my toddler days. That damned scar that marked me as the girl-who-lived. Though it's in the shape of a jagged lightning bolt, its appearance almost seems intentional. Then, to make things more strange, a similar scar in the shape of a crescent moon is engraved on the back of my right hand. Shaking my head, I turned away from the mirror and exited my room.

"Where do you think you're going?" my aunt asked, annoyed. Both she and Uncle Vernon, especially Vernon, had been testy since I'd gotten home, maybe before then. It all had to do with Dudley going off to some special camp in the states. Honestly, I was shocked they weren't crowing to the neighbours by then.

"Out." I responded before shutting the door. Taking a deep breath of the balmy evening air, I walked casually down the garden path and out onto the sidewalk. Like usual, I headed towards the neighbourhood park. Out of habit, I fingered the wand in my front pocket. Call me paranoid but I had no desire to let it out of my sight. Eventually, I reached my destination. Sadly, what was once a nice little park had been torn up recently by a group of vandals, also known as my cousin's little gang. The group of destructive boys was probably being led by Piers Polkiss by that point, Dudley's second in command..

Their was only one swing left in tact which I promptly sat on. I guess it was a kind of ritual of mine ever since I was a kid. Whenever I was home and my "family" got to be too much, I would always come out here to think. Luckily, the swing set was positioned in such a way that I could easily watch the sun sink beneath the horizon. I'd always watch it when I had the chance.

Gradually, I began pumping myself back and forth, enjoying the gentle movement and the slight breeze which tickled my face. Before I knew about Hogwarts, I always imagined that I was high in the air, flying on a broom. Then, I would leap off and descend slowly, as if I could fly on my own power. This was my world, my place to disconnect from everything. I could spend literally hours, simply swinging, jumping, and repeating and not even realise the passage of time. But this night was different. I had already jumped a number of times and it had grown dark. I was ready to do it again. Once I was sufficiently high enough, I closed my eyes and pushed off. I revelled in the feeling of the air flowing around me, lifting my skirt and hair. I landed gently on the gravel coating of the playground and opened my eyes only to fall back in shock.

A scant few yards away from me was the largest, most menacing-looking dog I had _ever_ seen. It was such a dark black that it seemed to be made out of the shadows. The eyes in its sockets were a glowing red like molten lava. Internally, I cursed my luck as I struggled for an idea to get me out of this mess. Why was it always _me_ who wound up facing messes and dastardly monsters? There were the run-ins during my childhood, like that strange teacher in white. Then, let's not forget the troll, the dragon, the cerberus, the second troll, the man-crushing willow, the entire colony of blood-thirsty acromantula, and the 60 foot basilisk. And now, a gigantic dog with fangs as long and thick as my forearm.

"Erm... good dog? It's okay... I won't hurt you..." the dog growled and bounded forward.

"Bad dog... bad, _bad_ dog... oh shit. Bloody fucking hell... of all the bloody... _ SHIT!"_ I squawked in fright. You would too, if you were in my position. The dog snapped its jaws at me. Luckily, I dodged to the left. I shook my head.

"_Come on, Alexandria. Where's that fabled Gryffindor recklessness?"_ I asked myself. I'd fought a 60 foot basilisk, among other things, but I could at _least_ get the jist of what they were saying as they tried to eat me or whatever the things wanted to do. Steeling myself, I took in a deep breath and leapt onto the swing which I had jumped from just a few minutes before.

"Oi! Dogbreath! Look at this!" I hollered. Luckily, the dog didn't seem too bright. It appeared to be at least mildly curious about what I was doing and, if only for a minute, willing to let me live a little longer. Swaying back and forth like a full body set of legs, I made the swing gain momentum. Then, Once I felt like I had gotten as high as I could without accidentally falling off, I catapulted off the rubber swing bottom. With a yell of triumph, I was boosted up with a gust of air and I landed on its large back. Now I think back on it, I was damn lucky I was flexible enough, and powerful enough, to pull off such a foolishly Gryffindor stunt. Had I sailed any lower, I could have been snatched right up in its sharp-fanged jowls.

The dog yowled in anger and began attempting to get me off. I hung onto its ears for dear life but I knew I wouldn't last on him for long. Of course, I just _had_ to be right and I flipped backwards and landed in a graceless heap. Not pausing, the giant dog whirled around and planted its forepaws on my legs, effectively pinning me. My vision was going fuzzy with pain from having a dog of at least 500 pounds on them. I had to do something, some last ditch effort so I wouldn't be dog chow.

Faster than I thought possible, I sat up as far as I could and wrapped my small hands around its large legs. Hoping for some aspect of my magic to assist me, I suddenly felt a tingling and buzzing sensation all over my body, though mostly in my hands. Arcs of sizzling electricity lanced out from the juncture between human hands and dog legs and consumed the creature. As I would later learn, it turned into a vanishing plume of golden dust upon its death. Of course, I never noticed this because I had already closed my eyes, preparing to pass out, mumbling "I hate dogs" as I did so.

Little did I know, my human-side magic acted on its own, taking me as close as it could to safety. My spoils of war? A couple of hellhound claws still digging into my broken legs. However, though nearly unconscious, my incredibly insane luck prevailed and my magic, as I found out later, just _had_ to appearate me onto a minitaur's back. The creature promptly threw me off.

A rumble of thunder sounded in the background and I felt wet earth under me. I could here rapid breathing, a stomping, and an angry roaring sound which didn't help my aching head. My awareness faded for I don't know how long. The next time I was vaguely conscious, I was being set down somewhere. One of my eyes cracked open, seeing a ceiling fan with a yellow, moth-swarmed light in the middle.

"One of them must be _the_ one." a youngish female voice with a clearly American accent sounded from somewhere above me. I didn't see the speaker as I had closed my eyes, groaning.

"Silence, Annabeth," the voice of an older man, his accent undefinable in my muddled mind, hushed her. "They're still conscious. Bring the boy inside; I will follow with the girl." I knew no more after that.

In my state of unconsciousness, my dreams were more bizarre than usual. I was being chased through the streets of Little Whinging by a pack of vicious dogs. Some were like Ripper, my uncle's sister's pitbull. Others were big, black, and snarling like the dog that had attacked me. _ Still_ others had three heads. There was a fourth sort which were ghastly combinations between the three other kinds of dogs. I know I woke up several times but nothing made much sense to me and I couldn't be bothered rousing myself so I would slip back into sweet oblivion soon afterwards.

I could remember some things, though. A soft bed, a straightening pressure in my legs. At one point, I woke up only to find a spoon in my mouth, something like pudding on it. It was like no pudding I'd ever tasted; it reminded me of treacle tart, my favourite dessert. I cracked my eyes open to see a girl. Her hair was curly and light blonde, her eyes a startling grey.

"I guess I better ask you since the other doesn't know." she sighed, clearly exasperated.

"Other?" I rasped thickly, swallowing the spoonful of pudding.

"Never mind that," she snapped, "what's happening on the summer solstice?"

"The huh?"

"What's happened? Something's been stolen, what is it? There's only a couple weeks left; we're running out of time!"

"I don't understand..." I trailed off. But she shushed me before I could say more, shoving another bite of the pudding into my mouth. I only woke up once after that before I was up for good. In the corner was a buff blond bloke with a _lot_ of eyes. Normal eyes? Check. Eyes on his cheeks and chin? Check. Eyes on his arms and what was visible of his legs? Check. He even had a little eye at the very tip of his nose. But that was all of my surroundings I could take in before the blackness of sleep pulled me under.

The next time I woke up, it was for good. I was still in bed. I felt stiff and sore but that was about the size of it. No sharp, jabbing pains, no splitting headache like I expected. I wiggled my toes and moved my legs around. Aside from being quite stiff, they seemed fine. But hadn't they been practically crushed that night? Into bits under hundreds of pounds? But they seemed as whole and normal as always. I gagged a bit as I yawned. My mouth tasted like the dust under my cousin's bed and I'm sure my breath smelled worse. Looking over to the nightstand next to the bed, I saw that a glass of some sort of juice had been left there, completely full, an unused straw stuck in it. There was also a little paper parasol which was stuck into a maraschino cherry. A part of me was wary, wondering if this was some sort of trick or trap, perhaps by my relatives, perhaps by an enemy. But I didn't think so. I just had this - well - this sort of feeling in my gut. If there's one thing to say about me, it's that I trust my gut. So I decided to enjoy the drink.

My hand was weak at first and I could barely clench it around the cool glass. However, eventually, I managed to lift it high enough so that the straw was at my lips. I took a sip and it was like drinking heaven in a glass. The taste was of liquified, minty chocolate, as though I was drinking a peppermint patty or a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I didn't know why at the time but I felt more energetic, like nothing had happened to me.

But as I pushed back the blankets and saw my upper legs, I knew that was false. Long, shallow scars could be seen, going a couple of inches, a few on each leg. I groaned softly, this was _just_ what I needed. Another set of unexplainable scars. Deciding I'd better get up and look around, I swung my legs off the bed and stood up shakily. My balance was off and my legs were stiff but I was on my feet again and that's what counted. I didn't want to stay in this place, clearly an infirmary of some sort, for too long. Even then, I _loathed_ infirmaries and hospitals of any kind. Madam Pomfrey could attest to that. One of the doors led directly outside, I could tell by the window of glass near the top. I supposed that was my best bet. Opening it, I walked out onto a large porch; I was on one side of it. I could see green, rolling hills in the distance and a strawberry scent wafted towards the porch on the breeze. I could see groves of trees, strawberry fields, and a winding stream. A few chairs, tables, and lounges were spread around the porch. One chair in particular was sat in by a boy. He looked about my age, perhaps younger, though he looked older in comparison to my scrawny form. He had somewhat shaggy black hair and sea green eyes. A blanket covered his legs and a pillow was behind his back. He seemed rather depressed. In his lap was a shoe box, opened up. Inside, I could see a jagged, black and white horn. On a table between him and another chair was a drink much like the one I had clutched in my hands.

"It wasn't your fault." the boy groaned, partly annoyed and partly resigned to some fact I didn't know at the time. His accent, like the girl's from my unconscious stint, was American.

"Yes, it was. I was supposed to _protect_ you." sniffed someone across from the boy, leaning on the rail of the porch. Again, he sounded American. He looked familiar, especially his brown curls. He wore a pair of converse hi-tops, jeans, and an orange t-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Was this a wizarding area? Perhaps an American one? But why on earth would they have named it Camp Half-Blood? Did the Americas have blood issues as well?

"Did my mother ask you to protect me?" the black-haired boy asked, snapping me back to their conversation. I shouldn't be eavesdropping, I knew this, but I was curious.

"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was." the curly-haired kid said gloomily.

"But why?" the boy asked. I wanted to know the same.

"Don't strain yourself," the curly-haired one implored. He went over to the boy and helped him take hold of his drink. He recoiled as he sipped it, almost dropping the glass. A sudden flash came to my mind as I looked at the brown-haired boy fussing over the black-haired one. It was in year six and Eustace Flemming had just punched me in the head, shoving me to the blacktop as he ran past. A blurry haze of a boy in my class with curly brown hair and crutches appeared over me. I tried to sit up.

"Don't strain yourself," he had said. "I'll get the nurse."

"Grover?" I gasped, the pieces clicking into place. He whirled around, almost losing his balance.

"Oh no," he said, a nervous blaaah-ing laugh escaping his throat just like it had when we were in school together. "You shouldn't be out of bed, Alexandria, not yet. If any of the healers saw you... you were in a bad state."

"What's going on here, Grover. I don't understand! Where am I? And don't you remember I prefer Alex?"

"Sorry, Alex. But you can at least sit down, all right?" he asked, shuffling over to me. I nodded and allowed him to lead me to the chair on the other side of the green-eyed boy's table. He put my drink on the table, placed a pillow behind me, and covered my legs like the other boy's were. Said boy was looking on in interest.

"How do you know her, Grover? Who is she?" he asked.

"My last assignment. Percius Jackson, meet Alexandria Potter. Alexandria Potter, meet Percius Jackson."

"Charmed." I said drolly.

"Call me percy." he returned. I grimaced slightly, thinking of Ron's older brother. Ah well.

"Call me Alex." I returned. "Or Lilium if you wish."

"Lilium?" he asked.

"My middle name." I shrugged.

"Right, got you. So what do you mean by your last assignment, Grover?" Percy asked.

I was to protect her as I have you. And I tried. She would have come here sooner if she hadn't been sent to the school of the Hecate-blessed, protecting her from the monsters."

"Hecate-blessed?" we asked at the same time.

"The lady Hecate, known as the goddess of magic?" I continued.

"Hold on, magic? Like witches and wizards?" Percy questioned.

"Of course! What else?" Grover exclaimed before I could get a word in edgewise.

"But they..." Percy trailed off.

"What is this place, anyway? Am I in the states? Is this another magic school?" I questioned, cutting through the silence.

"Yes you are, and no this isn't. But that's for later. Here, I figured you might appreciate these." Grover said, taking a smallish box off another table and plunking it in my lap. I opened it only to gasp at what was inside; the front claws of the creature which had attacked me. They were long, wicked sharp, and as black as night.

"But I..." I trailed off, confused.

"They were with you when you arrived. They might be useful." Grover shrugged.

"For what? stabbing someone? Poking someone's eye out?" I asked sarcastically. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Ouch, those must have hurt." breathed Percy.

"Like hell." I affirmed. "Some bloody monster of a dog attacked me in the park at night."

"A hound of the underworld." Grover nodded.

"Do you mean to tell me that I got myself chewed like a bloody drumstick by a _hellhound!"_ I exclaimed in shock.

"Don't say the name!" Grover begged frantically.

"Names have power, apparently." Percy stated.

"Voldemort business all over again." I huffed.

"This is for real, Alexandria. People stopped saying that name out of fear. But there's more power to saying names of legend here." Grover explained.

"Who's Voldemort?" Percy asked.

"Later." Grover and I said together. Percy didn't seem to be a wizard as he hadn't gotten all excited at my name. However, I had the feeling he was no ordinary Muggle.

"Alright then. Names have power so let me rephrase myself. I was politely _nibbled_ upon by a bloody big black dog with _red_ eyes!" I started out sounding sweet but was almost shouting towards the end. I could practically feel my hair curling as my frustration grew.

"Sooo... you're British?" asked Percy awkwardly, trying to break the tension.

"Yes." I bit out, clenching my fists. "I am."

"Don't strain yourself," Grover repeated. "Have some of your drink, both of you."

"Fine." I said huffily, grabbing the glass and almost dropping it. After a few deep breaths, I was able to manage it better and took a large gulp of the stuff. Before I knew it, both our glasses were empty and I was popping the cherry in my mouth.

"Was it good?" Grover asked us. Percy nodded.

"Brilliant." I affirmed aloud.

"What did it taste like?" Grover asked in an almost wistful tone. Percy looked guilty but I shot Grover an "are you crazy?" sort of look.

"Sorry," said Percy. "I should've let you taste." Grover's eyes grew almost comically wide.

"No! That's not what I meant. I just... wonder."

"Mint and chocolate." I answered after a pregnant pause. "Like a peppermint patty or mint chocolate chip ice cream."

"Chocolate chip cookies," Percy offered. "My mom's. Home made." I sighed wistfully at that. Percy glanced at me curiously.

"Doesn't your mom ever make anything home made?" he asked me.

"No." I said flatly.

"Why not?" he asked me.

"She's dead." I informed him flatly.

"I'm sorry... what about your dad?" he asked.

"Dead." I responded.

"I didn't mean..." he trailed off, blushing.

"I know." I sighed heavily.

"Okay... well... how do you two feel now?" Grover asked awkwardly.

"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards." Percy enthused.

"Nancy Bobofit?" I asked.

"A girl at my old school. She loved picking on Grover and I. How do you feel, Alex?" Percy asked.

"Like I... like I could stay up all day and all night and all day again without even getting tired."

"That's good," Grover said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. "It's just a drink. A magical one, obviously, but just a drink. A potion, maybe? What's the big deal?" Percy seemed even more confused than I was. Grover took our empty glasses carefully, acting like they might blow up in his stubbly face, and set them back on the table. I wanted to protest that I could've done that myself, that I wasn't an invalid, but I didn't feel like it was worth it.

"Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting." he told us, not answering my question. Percy and I both rose to our feet. I was clearly not the only one shaky, though I was considerably more wobbly than percy. Grover offered to carry Percy's horn and my box of claws but both of us declined. The porch wrapped all the way around the farm house, apparently. As we came around to the other side of the house, I couldn't help but gasp at the picturesque sight in front of me. We must have been near the ocean somewhere as the valley came all the way up to the sparkling water and I saw no distant shore. Plus, there was salt in the air and the water brushed the sand of the beach in waves. The ocean looked about a mile in the distance. I was glad of that as I _hated_ water, or more specifically bodies of water. I don't mind the rain at all; it's soothing. But present me with a body of water any bigger than a bathtub and I get nervous. I can remember never liking bath time as a child. It seemed so much bigger then. Dudley pushed me into a lake once and I nearly drowned. Between this house and the ocean, I could barely take in what else I was seeing. There were quite a few buildings that looked as though they came right out of the days of ancient Greece. An open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, and a circular arena of some sort. But what got me was that everything looked practically new. White pillars sparkled in the sun, the buildings stood proudly in the daylight, timeless. In a sandpit near us, at least ten secondary school age kids and these people with hairy legs - fauns or satyrs or something - were playing volleyball. A small lake was host to a few canoes. Some kids were chasing one another about by a cluster of cabins shaded by trees. An archery range could be seen, several other kids lining up for their shots. Still more rode horses down a wooded trail. To top it off, unless I was imagining things, some of their horses had wings. They must be either abraxon or aethenons or perhaps pegasus horses... but hadn't those gone extinct centuries ago? The thing that really got me was that, aside from the architecture and the horses, the place could hardly be said to look magical.

At a card table at the other end of the porch were two men across from each other. The blonde who had fed me pudding when I was barely conscious was leaning casually against the porch rail. The man facing Percy and I was small but rather on the plump side. It would be a stretch to say he could out-eat my uncle and cousin but I was sure he could almost match them. He had a red nose, watery eyes, and hair so black it was almost purple. He wore a tiger patterned Hawaiian shirt.

"Is he a rudolph reject or something?" I whispered to Percy. I was annoyed at the situation I found myself in and didn't feel exactly charitable that day. He snorted in amusement. The little man glared at me and Grover shot not only me but Percy a "shut up" kind of glare.

"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to us. "He's the camp director. Be polite. And Alexandria, make sure you don't say anything like you just said to his face. You don't want to make him mad. And that girl? She's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper but she's been here longer than most everyone. Percy, you already know Chiron..." he trailed off. Percy seemed to recognise the man facing away from us. He was in a wheelchair and wore a tweed jacket. His hair was brown and thinning and he sported a scraggly beard.

"Mr. Brunner!" Percy cried. The man turned and grinned at Percy, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Ah, good, Percy." he said. I recognised the man's voice from when I had first arrived here. "And Alexandria Potter, I presume? Excellent. There's four for pinochle." He offered us both seats. Percy sat to the right of Mr. D and I threw myself in the chair to the left with a groan. Mr. D looked between the two of us with bloodshot eyes. He sighed dramatically and spoke.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you."

"Uh, thanks." Percy said awkwardly. I think that both of us recognised the signs of a guy who had either drank too much or was suffering a massive hangover, though I doubted the latter. And they let him be in charge of children? But I didn't care much. I was getting really pissed off and I couldn't hold my temper any longer.

"Will someone _please_ tell me what the bloody blazing hell is going on!" I finally exploded. "First, I'm attacked by a dirty great canine _beast._ Then, I'm being fed treacle tart pudding. And there was a bloke with all these eyes... what's up with that? I come out here only to meet a kid I haven't been to school with since I was ten..."

"But you hardly look past ten now." Percy cut in.

"I'm almost _thirteen,_ damn it!" I exclaimed, my hair curling madly in my anger.

"Sorry." he said sheepishly.

"Sure. And let's top this bloody marvelous day off, shall we, by playing a game of pinochle with a guy wearing a fifty-year-old tweed jacket and another who looks like a drunken cherub who was raised in a trailer park and died his hair in _grape_ _juice."_

"I suggest you watch what you say and who you say it to, girl." he said, his eyes narrowing in anger. A part of me recognised at that moment the power this man held, though he didn't look like much. I guess that, after Quirrelmort, I should've known better. But I honestly thought the unimpressive-looking bloke could be better equated with Lockfart.

"Sorry, Sorry." I ground out, crossing my arms.

"Annabeth?" the man in the wheelchair called to the blonde girl. She came forward and the more pleasant man introduced us. "This young lady helped nurse you back to health. We had to bring in some of the Apollo cabin members who are more gifted with the healing arts in order to help you in particular, Alexandria, but Annabeth was a great help."

"Thanks." I sighed. The girl simply nodded.

"Annabeth, my dear, why don't you check on their bunks? We'll be putting them in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure, Chiron." she shrugged. She glanced at the box of claws which I still held and then to me before her eyes slid to Percy and the horn he carried. He looked hopeful that she would say something about it but instead she said, "You drool when you sleep." Percy's face fell comically and I couldn't help but burst out laughing as she sprinted off down the lawn.

"Oh... haha... your face..." I trailed off, still giggling.

"So," said Percy in an attempt to change the subject, "you, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"

"He's been called Chiron twice already. Was Mr. Brunner a fake name or something?" I asked.

"It was. And you don't have to call me sir, Miss Potter, it's just Chiron."

"Okay," said a confused Percy. "And what does Mr. D stand for?"

"_Dufus, drunkard, or dopey, most likely."_ I thought to myself. I would admit that this Mr. D character was someone to be wary of but that didn't mean I had to like or respect him. He glared at me as though he had an idea of my thoughts just by the look on my face. Mr. D stopped shuffling his cards and looked at Percy as though he had just burped "God Save the Queen" out his backside.

"Names are powerful things, young man. You don't just go around using them because you can."

"He just asked your name." I defended him.

"I suggest you reign in that temper and keep your mouth shut. Feel lucky that this isn't a situation where either could cost you your life." Mr. D said, annoyed. I glowered at him.

"I must say, Percy," Chiron cut into the conversation. "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a housecall to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I wasted my time."

"House call?" both Percy and I asked.

"My year at Yancy Academy. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. Admittedly, we have fewer in Britain so it was lucky that Grover was sent to your school and spotted you when he did."

"Hold on a minute. You mean to tell me that Grover's a _satyr_ as well?" I demanded. Sheepishly, Grover kicked off his hi-tops to reveal hooves instead of human feet sticking out his trouser legs.

"Indeed. Grover alerted me as soon as he met the both of you. He sensed you were something special. In Percy's case, I decided to come upstate. I convinced your Latin teacher to... ahem... go on leave. I did not go to England in your case, Alexandria. You had a little more protection and you would soon be going off to Hogwarts which meant that monsters would have more of a difficult time finding you. Grover's main job was to make sure you could get through year six, that's fifth grade in America, in tact so you could attend. If not for Hogwarts, you would have come here two years ago." I shook my head, trying to take all this in. Percy looked like he was concentrating as well.

"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" Percy questioned. Chiron bobbed his head.

"To be honest, I wasn't sure about either of you at first. Percy, We contacted your mother and let her know in case you were ready for camp. But you still had much to learn. Alexandria, we could contact nobody in your case as your aunt and uncle knew nothing about your heritage."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. I could tell he was getting there but I wanted that confirmation. It was only the fact that he was trying to tell us what was going on that kept me from another outburst.

"I'm getting there." Chiron sighed tiredly. "Nevertheless, you both made it here alive, one from across the ocean. And that's always the first test."

"You _do_ know how to play pinochle, don't you?" Mr. D said out of nowhere, eyeing both Percy and I suspiciously.

"I'm afraid not." Percy said.

"My aunt plays bridge and I shuffled sometimes... but that's about it." I added.

"I'm afraid not _sir."_ he said to Percy before turning to me. "My aunt plays bridge _sir."_

"_Sir."_ Percy and I repeated. I was liking the pudgy man less by the second and could tell Percy felt the same.

"It's one of the best games ever invented by humans, right up there with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man. And don't get me started on sissy little _Bridge_ games. I expect all _civilised_ gentlemen and ladies to know the rules."

"I'm sure they can learn." Chiron defended us.

"Please," Percy said almost desperately. "What is this place? Why am I here? Mr. Brun-Chiron, why'd you go to Yancy just to teach me?"

"I asked the same question." Mr. D snorted as he dealt the cards. Mr. D shot us both a sympathetic smile.

"Percy, did your mother tell you nothing?"

"She said... she told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said I probably couldn't leave once I was here. She wanted to keep me close to her." I squashed a slight pang of jealousy at the fact he clearly had a mum. It sounded like something had recently happened to her that he was torn up over.

"Typical," huffed Mr. D. "That's how they usually get killed. What about your parent, young lady?" I flinched.

"If you'd been paying attention to Mr. Chiron earlier, you'd have learned I live with my aunt and uncle. My parents are dead."

"You'll be pleased to know that one isn't as dead as you think." Chiron said kindly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, bristling. I know what happened. I saw them die."

"We here are well aware of that, Alex. But it's clear that one of your parents is a sponsor of sorts to this camp. Were that not the case, you would not have been allowed past its boarders."

"That doesn't mean anything." I snapped. "Maybe my dad or mum donated some funding or something."

"We do not survive on the pitty gifts of mortals." the grape-head snorted.

"Than what? Divine intervention?" I sneered. The boy, Percy, simply looked on in befuddlement.

"You'll learn better than to mock what you do not understand, young lady." the plump man glowered at me. "Though you were clearly being condescending, the answer is yes. Don't tell me, child, that you haven't at least seen pictures of your parents. Can you honestly tell me that you look like both of them?" he asked impatiently. Without any warning, a flash of my parents on their wedding day appeared in my head. The moving people stilled and I saw, as if with new eyes, how little I looked like my assumed father.

"No." I mumbled, tears creating a film over my vision. "It... it just can't be... can it?"

"I am sorry, Alex, but yes." Chiron nodded sadly. "I apologise that you had to reach such a revelation with no warning whatsoever. But it was necessary now you're here."

"Hey, you kids going to bid or not?" Mr. D's impatient growl interrupted the heavy silence that enveloped us.

"You're a real insensitive jerk aren't you, Mr. D?" I snapped frostily.

"Be glad you're still semi-ignorant, kid, or I might take insult. You gonna bid?" Mr. D asked again.

"What?" Percy asked, too interested in the earlier conversation to remember the card game Mr. D wanted to start. Annoyed, the alcoholic fatso quickly explained how to bid in pinochle. And so we did. If I had to play a stupid card game to get some more answers, I supposed it'd be worth it. But sometimes, especially in the first weeks of that long summer, I couldn't help but wish I'd been left in my ignorance. Why couldn't my parents have been normal after all?

A/N: Next chapter, Alex receives concrete proof of what we already know along with some nasty, and not so nasty, surprises. Ta-ta 'til next time!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi, all! I'm so glad people like my story. As a result, I typed up the entirety of chapter two today. Hope you like it!

By the way, I've been asked to please _not_ pair Percy and Annabeth together and instead pair Percy and Alex. I'm not really sure. I was planning on making Neville a demigod son of Demetre and pairing him with Alex. Either way, Neville's still going to be a demigod and he'll probably show up next chapter. What do you guys want? Alex/Neville or Alex/Percy? I need to know so I can queue up their interactions and reactions to one another. Please review or PM with your ideas. Oh, and sorry about calling the minotaur a mantacor in the last chapter. My bad! I'll fix it soon.

Chapter Two: Settling In

"There's so much to be covered." Chiron sighed tiredly, looking between Percy and I. "I don't believe the orientation film will suffice in this case."

"Orientation film?" Percy questioned. I was wondering the same thing. I remember thinking that such a thing would have been beyond useful when I found out I was a witch.

"Yes. But as I said, it will not do this time." Chiron replied.

"Okay." I shrugged, impatient.

"Right then. Percy, Alexandria..."

"Alex, please, like you called me earlier. Alexandria's such a mouthful." I interrupted. Mr. D glowered at me. I didn't get what the big deal was. It wasn't as if I was interrupting his high and mightily royal pain in the arse.

"Alex then. You now know that your friend Grover is a satyr. You, Percy, know that you have killed the minotaur. And you, Alex, have slain a hellhound. Those are not small feats, I'll tell you now. And Alex, you have been well aware for going on two years that you are a witch and that magic and magical creatures exist. But what neither of you know is that there is more to this world than what you have seen. Gods, the forces that you call Greek gods, are very much alive." Chiron intoned solemnly. Percy and I both stared around at Grover, Chiron, and Mr. D. I couldn't take the silence anymore so I spoke out. I could see that Chiron was serious but I didn't want to believe it. After all, if a schizophrenic in the loony bin thought they were hearing voices, they'd look completely serious when talking about them.

"Riiiight. And I'm the holy incarnation of fucking Isis, Egyptian goddess of all the magic on the bloody earth." I drawled sarcastically. Mr. D's face scrunched up in something like anger or irritation. Then again, he could have been constipated or about to blow chunks.

"What did I tell you about mocking what you don't understand? Are you so mentally inept that you can't learn your lesson?" he demanded, his apparently normal bored, slurring tone being replaced by something a lot more serious.

"No." I said coldly. "It's just that I'm not stupid enough to believe something that any random person tells me." Before Mr. D could retort, Chiron cut in.

"You'll have all the information you want, Alex. Just please keep listening." he implored.

"C'mon. I'm just as curious as you are." Percy cut in.

"Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut." I bit out.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Mr. D muttered to himself.

"As I was saying," Chiron picked up, "Greek gods are real."

"Oh, a royal marriage! Trick, trick!" Mr. D cackled suddenly, unintentionally breaking the tension. I rolled my eyes.

Mr. D, can I have your diet coke can?" Grover asked shyly from his position perched on the porch rail.

"Hmmm? Yes, fine then." he nodded distractedly. Grover took the can and tore a bite off, crunching it thoughtfully. Or maybe it was morosely, I couldn't tell which.

"Think, Percy, of the gods we talked about in Latin class." Chiron said, trying to jog Percy's memory.

"Like Zeus? Hera? Apollo?" Percy asked. "You really mean them?" A clap of thunder sounded distantly. It sounded foreboding, though I got the feeling that I had nothing to fear from it at that moment.

"What have I said about names before? They are _not_ to be bandied about so casually." Mr. D said sternly... or at least as sternly as a guy with a seemingly permanent slur can sound.

"But they're stories." Percy argued. "Myths!" but I was growing less sure.

"_I don't want to believe... I don't want to believe... I don't want to believe!"_ I thought to myself desperately. My world was turning upside-down again. I felt like I was on a roller-coaster but with out the harness, like a Gringotts cart gone wild.

"They were thought up to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff." Percy continued.

"What's science when compared with magic?" I cut in. "I'm a wand-waving witch of all things. With magic, science gets thrown right out a skyscraper's top floor window. But I do have to admit that gods seem too far fetched, even for me." I only half believed what I said.

"Science." Mr. D scoffed. "Tell me, Perseus Jackson, what will people think of today's so-called _science_ two thousand years from now? They will call it primitive mumbo-jumbo, that's what. I just _love_ mortals. They never look to the future. They're certain they've come _so_ far. and have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me. As for you, Alexandria Potter, there's a little fact that you'll do well to remember. The only reason magic exists is because the goddess Hecate blessed you mortals with it. Why she did so I have no idea. Look at your people. They quibble over something as idiotic as blood supremacy. As if all mortals aren't of equal status." he sneered. I could tell that Percy was about fed up with Mr. D. So was I, in fact, but I had to admit I saw his point. It was clear to me that Mr. D was calling us mortals like he wasn't. I bit my lip, trying to take it all in.

"You two can choose whether to believe or not. But that doesn't change anything. Immortal means immortal. Can you imagine? Never dying, never fading? Existing forever as you are?" Percy opened his mouth as if to answer but closed it after a minute. I tucked some hair behind my ears as I thought.

"Sounds like a pretty sucky deal. But so many people want it." I said quietly. Look at the man who killed my parents? He murdered and terrorised to try achieving it. And look at the Flammels? They kept having to drink an elixir just to live longer."

"Yes, those Flammels." Mr. D said derisively. "All false immortals end somehow. It's in their fate. Every mortal dies. That's a fact of life."

"I never said it wasn't, sir." I said, trying to be respectful.

"Good. Then maybe you have some brains after all." the pudgy man nodded.

"Here's another question. If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth? An old story to explain winter or lightning? What if I told you both that _you_ would be myths someday? That you, Perseus Jackson, were created as a way to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers? Or that you, Alexandria Potter, were created to explain how an orphan deals with life or learning of a new world or dealing with fame?" Chiron's questions were probing, meant to evoke a response.

"I would hate it." I hissed so quietly it was just above a whisper.

"But I don't believe in gods." Percy said defiantly.

"You'd better, child, before you're incinerated by one who you happen to piss off." Mr. D warned.

"You mean like you?" I asked archly.

"Indeed, little girl." he answered.

"I'm not a little girl." I bristled.

"Well you sure act like one sometimes." he shot back. The two of us glared at each other.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, looking between us.

"Try and figure it out for yourself." I told him. "Answers aren't always served up on a silver platter, you know." I knew I was sounding a little hypocritical but really. He should be able to figure it out by now. Mr. D was clearly Dionysus.

"Sir... he just lost his mother. And she's not got anyone." Grover said timidly. I scowled.

"Help me, help me, I'm so helpless!" I cried in a high, squeaky voice. "Thanks a lot."

"I didn't mean it like that." Grover cried, distressed.

"I know," I sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Bad enough I'm stuck here in this miserable job but now I'm stuck with boys who don't believe and girls who can't hold their tempers." Mr. D grumbled. Waving his hand, a goblet filled with red wine appeared out of nowhere, as if he'd created it from the air itself or solidified sunbeams. I blinked, Percy's jaw dropped, and Chiron barely paid any mind to it.

"Mr. D, remember your restrictions." he said sternly. The man looked at the wine and then pretended to be shocked.

"Oh dear!" looking at the sky, he shouted an unapologetic "Old habits die hard! Sorry, Pops!" A warning rumble of thunder sounded again. It was as if it said, "I've got my eye on you." Waving his hand, Mr. D changed the goblet into a can of diet coke. Sighing unhappily, he popped the top and continued analysing his cards. Chiron grinned at Percy and me.

"Mr. D offended his father awhile back. He took quite a liking to a wood nymph who was declared off limits."

"A wood nymph?" Percy asked, shocked. He was staring at the can of coke as though it was something he'd never seen before.

"Yes. Father loves to punish me." Mr. D pouted. "The first time was the American prohibition. It was ghastly! Ten years of no legalised alcohol; nothing but horribly made moonshine. The second time, well, what can I say? She really was pretty and I couldn't stay away. He sent me here, Half-Blood Hill. A summer camp full to the brim with brats like you. He said I could be a good influence by working with youth rather than tearing them down. Ha! It's not fair."

"And..." Percy stammered. "your father is..."

"Zeus, Percy. His dad's Zeus." I said, putting Percy out of his misery.

"Di immortales, Chiron!" Mr. D exclaimed, flustered. "I thought you'd at least have taught this boy the basics. At least the girl got something right. My father is Zeus."

"You're Dionysus." Percy stated. "The god of wine."

"What do the kids say these days, Grover? Well duh?" Mr. D demanded snidely.

"Yes, M-Mister D."

"Then well _duh,_ Percy Jackson. Who did you think I was, Aphrodite? Or maybe Demetre?"

"Well Demetre _does_ start with D." I joked, about fed up with Dionysus and his coarseness with us. He was a shorter, fatter, and more alcoholic version of Snape, if only a bit more mild and somewhat helpful.

"You're a god." Percy said flatly, as if he still couldn't believe it.

"Yes, child."

"A god... you!" Percy exclaimed.

"A god, he." I shot back. Dionysus turned and looked at Percy dead in the eyes before swivelling around to look at me. Something like a purple flame of power danced around in his irises. He was more powerful than even I thought after he'd given me that first dressing down. He showed me an image of grape vines choking unbelievers to death. Then, an image of rowdy, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, ready to make the most impulsive moves. The last image he showed me was of sailors screaming in pain as their hands turned to flippers and their faces elongated into dolphin snouts. And I knew that he could show me much worse, do much worse things to Percy or me if we weren't careful. I could honestly say that it was in that moment that I truly began to believe that the gods existed. And maybe, just maybe, I was a part of their world. After all, who's to say a god couldn't just impregnate my mum without her even having to cheat on my dad, or take some of my dad's DNA, combine it with his, and give him the child.

"Would you like to test me, children?" he said, his voice a dangerously quiet growl.

"No, sir." we both said at once. The fire in his eyes died a bit. I could tell Percy saw that as well since he slumped in relief.

"I believe I win." he said, his mood taking a 180 as he looked at his cards. I wondered fleetingly if he was bipolar and whether or not all gods were like him. But I banished the thought as quickly as I could so he couldn't latch on to it like he did before.

"Unfortunately not." Chiron said with an undertone of smug satisfaction. He set down a straight, tallied his points, and reiterated: "The game is mine." It seemed for a second that Mr. D was going to choke Chiron in conjured grape vines. But then, he simply sighed through his nose in a resigned way. It seemed as though he lost often. As he stood, Grover hopped off the rail and stretched.

"I'm tired. I think I'm going to take a nap before the sing-a-long tonight. But we need to talk first, Grover, about your lest than stellar performance on this assignment." he said with a yawn which turned into a stern clip as he looked at the nervous satyr.

"Y-Yes, sir." he stammered shamefully. Mr. D turned to us.

"Cabin 11, you two. And do mind your manners. Especially you, Miss Potter." he said sternly. With that, he swept into the farmhouse with a miserable Grover following behind him.

"Will Grover be okay?" Percy asked.

"I hope so. I don't know what happened but he seems really torn up." I added. Chiron nodded, though he looked slightly perturbed anyway.

"Dionysus isn't exactly mad, he just hates this job. He's been... I suppose the most apt term is grounded. He's very eager for his century-long punishment to be over with so he can return to Olympus on a more permanent basis." Chiron explained.

"So there's really a palace on Mt. Olympus?" Percy asked.

"Well, there's Mt. Olympus in Greece, of course." Chiron began.

"And on Mars." I cut in, grinning.

"A valid point." Chiron nodded. "But anyway, then there's the home of the gods. It's the convergence point of their powers. It did used to be on Mt. Olympus. It's still called Mt. Olympus out of respect to the old ways. But the palace moves just as the gods do. Remember that, you two."

"You're saying the Greek gods are here in the states?" I asked curiously.

"But of course. The gods move as the heart of the west does." Chiron explained.

"The what?" Percy asked.

"You don't really think that western civilisation is just an abstract concept, do you? It isn't. It's more, a living force that's been burning bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You could even say they're the source of it. Or they're at least tied so tightly to it that they could never fade so long as western society exists. As you should both know, it started in Greece. Then, the heart of the fire moved to Rome along with the gods. They went by different names, yes, but they were still the same."

"And then they died." Percy finished.

"Wouldn't they have just moved? Even if they weren't actively worshiped?" I asked.

"Indeed. They moved first to Germany. Then, they were in France. After France came Spain for a time. They spent several centuries in your homeland, Alex. Just look at the architecture.

"People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see their influence. They're in paintings, statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, now they're in the United States. Your national symbol is the eagle of Zeus. There's a statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center. Your government buildings in Washington DC have Greek facades. I doubt you could find a city here where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places, like it or not. Believe me, plenty of people weren't fond of Rome either. America is now the heart of the flame, the great power of the west. Now, Olympus is here, as are we." Chiron finished grandly. I could tell that Percy was feeling overwhelmed. So was I, to be honest. I was learning of an entirely new world, one that had stronger ties to the magical one than any normal witch or wizard knew.

"Who are you, Chiron?" Percy asked. "Who... who am I?"

"That's what I'd like to know." I said dryly. Chiron smiled kindly at us. He shifted his weight as though to jump right out his wheelchair and dance a little jig. But I hadn't seen his legs so much as twitch once.

"Who are you? Well, that's what we all want answered. But for now, we should get you two settled in cabin eleven. You'll be able to meet new friends. Then, you can start lessons tomorrow. There will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, by the way, and I adore chocolate." he grinned. Then, before we could blink, he rose from his wheelchair. But it looked odd. His blanket fell to the wood planks of the porch but his legs weren't moving. His waste was lengthening, rising above his belt. At first, it looked like he was wearing velvety white long johns. But he kept rising, getting to be taller than any ordinary man. What looked like the top of velvety long johns at first was now clearly the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under a smooth coat of pure white fur. I could tell now that the wheelchair wasn't a chair but some huge box on wheels, clearly with space expansion charms of some sort. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed with a huge, polished hoof. It was then I realised what he was, a centaur. Another leg came out, followed by his hind quarters. Then, the box was empty. It was nothing but a metal shell with a couple fake human legs attached. Percy stared at Chiron, the centaur. So did I, to be honest. Where a normal horse's neck would be was the upper body, smoothly attached to the rest.

"What a relief." he said, relieved. "I was stuck in that thing so long I could barely feel my fetlocks. Come, let's meet the other campers." Percy and I looked at each other before shrugging and following him down off the porch.

A/N: Next chapter, Alex gets a tour and meet some demigods.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

Hi, everyone! Sorry it took awhile to make this chapter. It's rather long, as you can see. My goal is to get you a chapter of this story every week. I'll probably update Friday nights, Saturdays, or Sundays as that's when I can relax. I'm a university student and am taking three English courses right now, including one on Shakespeare so my work load is rather heavy.

Sorry for the long author's note but I want to explain a few things to you. I've made Neville Longbottom, NYMPHADORA Tonks, Luna Lovegood, and Dudley Dursley demigods. I probably won't be using them much, at least not until Sea of Monsters. That is, of course, unless you want any of them to go on the quest in this book. But don't count on it. My reasoning for Dudley not attending all Alex's schools is that his parents were able to convince their friends, who're on the school board, to keep him at the same public school despite his learning problems and bullying. But they saw Alex's problems as a way to get rid of her early. I'm sorry if anyone thinks that Alex's name is too long, by the way. I just liked the name Alexandria and thought it was something Lily would love. Also, Lilium would have been a nod to her Greek god heritage. I'm sure it's obvious who Alex's dad is but I didn't want to be subtle about it anyway. I'm doing my best to make Alex a good character with her own flaws and strengths. Her power is more in her demigod abilities than her magic.

Also, forgive me for any spelling errors I make an any British slang foul-ups that I make as I am American. I also apologise in advance for any continuity errors I make in the Percy Jackson part of the crossover as I'm still in the first book. I know what happens in the rest but haven't read them. I have no idea what to do about the prophecy thing but I'll figure it out. In any case, Alex will play just as big a part in the books as Percy does. And later on, Percy and some others will play a bigger part in Alex's fight against Voldemort. I'm sorry too for Alex's potty mouth but I've heard a lot worse from kids around her age. And she's a bit calmer in this chapter so she's able to be a bit more tactful and remind Percy to do the same. She's a bit more accepting just because of the fact that she's already used to the strange and out of the ordinary. But she's also rather sad that, at this moment, she doesn't know which of the Potters was her real parent. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three: Old Faces, New Faces

Both Percy and I were careful to not stand directly behind the centaur as neither of us had any idea what kind of bladder control he had: horse or human. Once, when Mrs. Figg had the floo when I was seven, I was forced to go with the Dursleys to a horse ranch for Dudley's birthday. He wanted to learn how to ride. All he really did was piss off the horse he tried riding. In his fury, after the lesson was done, he'd shoved me into a big old pile of horse poop. Ever since then, I've been wary of the back ends of such creatures.

The three of us first passed the volleyball pit. A number of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn in Percy's grasp. Another pointed to my box of claws.

"There's the boy who killed the you-know." one whispered loudly.

"And there's the girl that killed a big black dog and teleported across the world!" another exclaimed excitedly. I rolled my eyes. I'd gotten across the ocean, not the entire world. I supposed I had, what had Hermione called it? Oh yes, apparated. I supposed I'd apparated. I noticed that most of the campers were older than Percy and I. Also, their satyr friends looked older and larger than Grover were. All they wore were orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirts. Their shaggy bottom halves were completely uncovered and up for display. I couldn't help but hope they had the decency to at least wear thong underwear, though I wasn't fool enough to look. The way they were staring at Percy and me reminded me of my experiences at Hogwarts. But that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. I could also tell that, though Percy didn't seem the timid type, he wasn't used to all this attention. Percy glanced back at the farmhouse and I followed his gaze, curious what it looked like. It was bigger than I might have thought at first. I imagined it could have been a one-story rambler. But it wasn't. It was four floors high and the colour of the sky on a sunny day, trimmed in stark white. On top of it was a brass eagle weather vane. I was staring at it when a flicker caught my eye. I could tell Percy had seen it as well. There was a shadow that could be seen through the uppermost attic window. Whatever it was had moved the curtain briefly. A shiver ran down my spine, like something was watching my every move.

"What's up there?" Percy asked.

"I saw a shadow." I added, pointing along with Percy. Chiron's smile lessened.

"That's just the attic." he answered.

"Does someone live up there?" Percy asked.

"No. Not a single _living_ thing." Chiron answered.

"A single dead thing?" I asked.

"Nobody lives there." he said with finality, but I could tell he was only being half honest. "Come along, there's lots to see." He took us through the strawberry fields where campers were picking bushels of them while a satyr played a lovely song on a reed pipe.

"The camp grows these to export to New York restaurants and Mt. Olympus. It pays our expenses and the strawberries take almost no effort." Chiron told us.

"Really? Why's that?" I asked. "Demeter's kids?"

"That and Mr. D has a sort of gift with fruit baring plants. It works best with wine grapes but he's restricted from growing those. So strawberries were chosen instead." Chiron responded. As we walked, I watched the satyr playing his pipe. As he did so, an army of bugs left the patch in every direction as if in retreat. The satyr made me think of Grover. I hoped the poor kid wasn't getting it too bad from Mr. D. I didn't know him as well as Percy seemed to seeing as we weren't more than acquaintances at school. But that didn't mean I wished ill of him. He seemed like a really nice guy.

"Will Grover get in too much trouble?" Percy asked, putting voice to my thoughts. "He was a good protector, really."

"Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps they can be said to be bigger than are reasonable." Chiron sighed, shedding his jacket and putting it on his back as if it was a horse blanket. "To reach as goal, he's got to be able to demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper. He's not only got to find a new camper but bring them safely to Half-Blood Hill."

"But he did that." Percy argued.

"Though I cannot say I disagree, it is not my place to decide. It is up to Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders to make the decision. They might not see this assignment as successful. Grover _did_ lose you in New York. Then, there's what happened to your mother and the fact that Grover was completely out of it when you dragged him over the property line. The council might wonder whether or not Grover has enough courage." Chiron said gravely. An expression of guilt flashed across Percy's face.

"Will he get a second chance?" Percy asked.

"I'm afraid that _was_ his second chance, Percy." Chiron winced.

"If you mean that I was his first chance, what's the problem? He was there all through year six and you said yourself that the only reason he couldn't take me to camp was that I was going to Hogwarts anyway. Isn't that unfair?" I demanded.

"I'm not talking about you. You were more his... chance and a half. And that was by accident. He was only assigned to that particular area of Britain to investigate why monsters were showing themselves to be more active there. He found you by chance, Alex. He wanted to at least see you through the year. The Council, and especially Zeus, weren't happy about letting him do that much for you, especially after what happened five years ago. But they wanted to see if he was competent enough to at least keep you alive through the year. They knew that, with your own magic, you had a better chance than most others like you. Witch and wizard demigods do exist but they're less common than the norm. But they have a better chance of surviving, at least as children, thanks to accidental magic." Chiron explained.

"Than what was his first chance?" I asked.

"That's not relevant right now. Those involved will tell you if it is their desire to do so. Olympus knows that I advised him to wait longer to take on a full assignment. He's still so small for his age."

"How old is he?" Percy wondered.

"Twenty-eight." Chiron answered.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

"He's still in sixth grade?" Percy asked, incredulous.

"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle-schooler for the past six years. He was barely able to pass himself off as an elementary student when he was in your class, Alex."

"But sixth grade is middle school." Percy protested.

"In England, year six is like the American fifth grade." Chiron explained.

"Oh. But that's horrible Grover ages so slowly!" Percy exclaimed. "But we're the same age, Alex. How were you just leaving fifth grade two years ago? I only finished it last June."

"Do you have a summer birthday?" I asked him.

"Yes, August eighteenth. Why?"

"Your school district probably let you in a year later than me because your birthday was past their deadline." I shrugged. "I've a summer birthday, too, but the deadline where I lived was August 31st."

"Oh." Percy said in understanding.

"Anyway, Chiron, how do satyr parents deal with two years of the terrible twos or fourteen years of their kids being like teenagers?" I asked. Chiron chuckled.

"They're used to it." he said mirthfully. "But anyway, Grover's a late bloomer even by satyr standards. And he's not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. But he was determined to pursue his dream. But maybe now he'll find some other career."

"That's not fair!" Percy exclaimed.

"Before you ask again, his first time was as bad as it sounds. But that's up to him to tell you." Chiron looked away. "Let's move along."

"Chiron," Percy said before we could take another step, "If all of this is real, Olympus and the gods..."

"Yes, child?"

"Is the underworld real, too?" he asked hopefully. I shook my head. He wanted his mum back, I understood that. I wanted mine back too, quite terribly. But it wouldn't do any good to dwell on such a small hope.

"Yes, child. There is a place where spirits go after death. But until we know more, I urge you to put that out of your mind." he said. Percy's shoulders slumped. I shot him an understanding look.

"What do you mean until we know more?" he asked.

"Just that, Percy. Now come along." Chiron said with finality. We moved on through the field and neared the end. But before we reached the field's outer edge, I saw a familiar face I wasn't expecting.

"Neville? Neville Longbottom?" I called, running forward. The boy jumped and got up from his kneeling position in front of one of the strawberry plants. He looked at me in bewilderment.

"Alex? Is... is that really you?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me." I laughed. "It's really me."

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Same as you, I expect. Unless you were a satyr all along?" I grinned. "Hmmm... no shaggy rump, no horns, and no hoofs. You must be a demigod like me!"

"Like you? You mean...?" he trailed off.

"Yes. I'm still wrapping my head around it all, to be honest. What about you? How long have you known?"

"Oh. I... I've known since the summer before Hogwarts. I started going to camp last summer. Demeter's my godly parent." he said proudly.

"Wicked! No wonder you're such a genius in the garden, Nev. Good for you." I grinned slightly.

"Th-Thanks. What about you? Do you know who your parent is?" he asked timidly.

"I'd still like to think that both Lily and James Potter were my parents to be perfectly honest, Nev." I said seriously. "But I know I can't do that. The short answer is I haven't got a clue whether I've a god for a mum or dad. I have only a few half-formed ideas why one of them could or couldn't be my parent."

"Oh... I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"You've nothing to be sorry for." I grinned at him.

"Who's this?" Percy asked as he and Chiron joined us.

"Oh, this is Neville Longbottom. He's one of my friends from school." I introduced him. "Neville, this is another new demigod, Percy Jackson."

"Nice to meet you." Percy grinned.

"You too." Neville said, returning his smile.

"We probably should get going on our tour if we want to finish before dinner." Chiron interrupted. "There will be plenty of time to socialise later."

"Oh, of course. I understand." I nodded.

"I probably should get back to tending anyway. And Alex? I'm really glad to see you here."

"Likewise, Neville. Say, are there any more of us from Hogwarts?" I asked.

"J-just two. The first is a daughter of Aphrodite named Tonks. I think her first name's Nymphadora but she's likely to hex you if you call her that. She's seventeen and going to be graduating Hogwarts at the end of next year." Neville relayed. "The other will be a second year next term. Her name's Luna Lovegood and Apollo's her dad."

"Great! Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate it." I grinned. Neville blushed and stammered a response as we walked past. The next place Chiron took us was to the edge of a large forest. I could tell right off that it wasn't dissimilar to the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. However, I got the feeling that it could be much more dangerous.

"The woods are stocked if you've the desire to try your luck. But do go armed." Chiron informed us. I could only assumed they were stocked with monsters.

"Stocked with what? Armed with what?" Percy asked.

"Probably monsters or some such. And weapons and armour, of course." I sighed. Poor Percy, he seemed like he was going to explode with information overload. I felt similar but was better at hiding it, I suppose, and more used to thinking on my feet. But he would catch up in time.

"You'll both have to wait and see. Capture the flag will be on Friday night. Do you two have your own swords and shields?" Chiron asked. Percy and I shot him "are you stupid?" looks. "Right. I should have guessed not. I'll visit the armory later to set some aside for you. A size 5 should do for you, Percy. And perhaps a size three or four for you, Alex."

Percy looked like he wanted to ask another question but decided to keep silent. Next, we saw the archery range. Then, we passed by the canoeing lake. I sped up as we did.

"A bit eager, aren't you?" Percy teased.

"I hate bodies of water larger than an average bathtub. I sink like a stone. Can't so much as doggy-paddle to save my life." I said by way of explanation. Percy shrugged but Chiron glanced thoughtfully at me. Next, we passed by the stables. They were filled with different types of horses, mundane and supernatural.

"Are those really pegasus horses?" I asked, awed.

"Indeed." Chiron said with a warm smile. He seemed not to mind the horses but he looked upon the stables with distaste.

"Wicked. I thought they were extinct. I'm glad they're not. I'm not much of a horse person but anything that flies is okay in my book." I grinned. I was thinking maybe I could get used to the place after all. Next, we past by a javelin range, an amphitheater, and an arena where spear and sword fights took place according to Chiron.

"There's actually sword and spear fights here?" Percy asked.

"Yes. Cabin challenges and all that. They tend to not be lethal, most of the time at least." Chiron said informatively.

"Most of the time?" Percy and I exclaimed in perfect unison.

"Yes. And look, here we have the mess hall." Chiron changed the subject again. He seemed a nice enough guy... centaur... whatever. But his changes of subject were really annoying to me back then. As he spoke, he pointed to an outdoor pavilion with no walls or ceiling. Instead, it was surrounded by white Grecian columns. A dozen stone picnic tables were arranged in it. It was on the top of a hill overlooking the sea. I had to admit the view was beautiful, even if I had no desire to get any closer to the turbulent waters.

"What do you do when it rains?" Percy wondered. Chiron looked at him as if he'd sprouted a second head.

"What?" I snapped. "He asked a perfectly valid question." Chiron didn't respond. Instead, he showed us over to the cabins. There were twelve of them which were nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U shape with two at the base and five forming each side. They were an eclectic collection of buildings to put it mildly. Save for the fact that all were numbered in brass above their doors, each building was completely different. Odds were on the left, evens on the right. Cabin nine had smokestacks as though it were a miniaturised factory. Number four had to be the demeter cabin for it had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of honest to Olympus grass. Seven looked like it was made of solid gold which glared as the sun hit it so it was almost blinding to look at. All of them faced a common area which was dotted with Greek statues, fountains, and the like. There were some flower beds spread about as well as a few basketball hoops which I could tell Percy was happy about just by the excited glint in his eyes. In the very centre of the field was a very large fire pit, lined in stone. What looked to be a nine-year-old girl tended it, poking the coals with the stick. I had the niggling feeling she was Hestia. The pair of cabins at the base caught my eye shortly afterward and I found myself gravitating towards them. They were the most grand buildings I'd ever seen that were so small. The one on the left caught my eye the most. It was the largest of the twelve cabins, made of solid white marble. Its polished bronze doors gleamed a holographic sheen so that, no matter how one looked at them, it seemed as though lightning bolts were streaking across them at different angles. My eye focused on cabin two for a moment, taking it in. It was slightly smaller and could be said to be more feminine in appearance. It, too, was made of white marble. The columns in front of it were slim, garlanded with flowers and pomegranates. Peacocks were carved as exquisite images into the walls.

"Zeus and Hera?" I vaguely heard Percy ask as my focus snapped back to cabin one.

"Correct." Chiron nodded. I shrugged and kept moving towards cabin one. Putting my hand on the right hand doorknob, I found the door creak open slightly. I couldn't help but peak inside. The cabin was beautiful, though there were no beds or, indeed, any furniture of any kind. That is, of course, unless you counted the golden eagle statues in the alcoves and the large statue of Zeus in the middle of the floor. The ceiling was domed and more beautiful, in my opinion, than the enchanted sky at Hogwarts. There was a moving mosaic of storm clouds and thunderbolts which were even accompanied by the proper sound affects. The cabin even smelled just as the air did right before a big storm. It was just about my favourite smell in the world.

"Alexandria, you'd best leave there. The gods aren't fond of undetermined campers poking around in their cabins." Chiron said warningly. I sighed sadly and shut the door, totally blocking out the soft, soothing rumble of thunder which sounded continuously within. Taking a few deep breaths, I rejoined them and we continued walking.

"Does nobody live in their cabins?" I asked, stopping to join the conversation.

"No. The same is the case with a few others." Chiron told us.

"Okay. So each cabin has a different god, like a mascot." Percy nodded, trying to put it all into more relatable terms. I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"A mascot, Percy? Really? I'm sure the gods love being called mascots like the common bear or dog." I joked.

"Shut up, Alex." he blushed. "You know what I meant. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?" Percy stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three. It was less ostentatious than cabin one, built solidly out of rough grey stone studded with coral and sea shells. It looked to come right out of the very depths of the ocean and I couldn't help but admit it was quite beautiful, though not something I would have chosen. But that's probably because I'd die of fright going that low. Percy peaked inside as I did in the Zeus cabin.

"Percy." Chiron said warningly. Before he could be pulled back, Percy took in a deep breath through his nose, inhaling something I couldn't smell. After a moment, Chiron put his hand on Percy's shoulder and gently nudged him away.

"Come along, Percy." he said gently. As we walked along, I noticed that most of the other cabins were filled with campers. Cabin five in particular stuck out like a big, ugly red boil with barbed wire lining the roof and a stuffed boar's head hanging above the doorway with creepy, staring eyes. The paint job was an eyesore, like it'd been splattered on the walls with fists and feet, buckets and body slams. There might have even been a tinge of brown equating to the colour of blood mixed in but it was all too muddled for me to tell. I don't like to think I'm that much of a colour snob but I had to admit that the cabin was hideous. Looking inside, I saw a bunch of mean-looking kids, both boys and girls, shouting at each other or testing one another's strength. Rock music blared through the open doorway. One of the loudest was a girl, perhaps a year older than me, wearing a size XXXL Camp Half-Blood T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. Her hair was long, brown, and stringy. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the boy she was arguing with. His pig face, watery eyes, blond hair, and huge frame were all too familiar to me. It looked like my hated cousin had finally met his match, and they were apparently related. Dudley was dressed similarly to the other kids except for the fact that he didn't have a camouflage jacket on. TURNING his head, he saw me in the doorway and sneered nastily at me. I could see the girl doing the same, sensing fresh meat. But her gaze was more focused on Percy. I supposed Dudley was telling her that it was his job to torment me. Damn! Just when I thought I'd gotten away from that fat arsehole, there he was in with all the Ares kids. For who else could their father be but Ares? Damn!

"Let's get out of here." I murmured, taking Percy's arm and tugging him forward.

"What was that all about?" He asked once we were clear of the rowdy kids.

"Did you see that fat, pig-faced kid in there?" I whispered. Percy nodded. "Yeah, that's my cousin. I grew up with him. Trust me, you don't want to spend any more time than necessary around him."

"Right, gotcha." Percy nodded. Chiron shot us an amused glance and we continued forward.

"We haven't seen any other centaurs." Percy noted aloud.

"I'm afraid you won't." Chiron sighed sadly. "My kinsmen are a barbaric sort. You might encounter them in the wilderness or at some sporting events. But you won't find any here. They're simply too... wild."

"What? But there's centaurs in the forest at Hogwarts. They weren't like that at all. They were more interested in what was high in the sky than partying and getting high themselves." I said, puzzled.

"Don't let the divining front fool you, young lady. I do admit that the centaurs in your area are somewhat tamer than the rest. But not by much. They might have a slight star divining talent as well but you can't always put stock in what they say, especially if they've been drinking the infamous Scottish centaur ale. I've heard my stateside brethren get hold of that for special occasions." Chiron grinned at my stunned expression.

"I... I'd have never guessed. They seemed so serious." I stammered. Chiron simply shook his head.

"You said your name was Chiron." Percy cut in. "Are you really...?"

"The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that?" Yes, I am."

"But shouldn't you be dead?" Percy asked before he could filter what he said. I nudged him in the side. I had the feeling that was personal. Yes, I'd let my mouth run away earlier. But I was trying to get information. Now, I was trying to make sure that neither of us continued looking like idiots. There was need to know and want to know and Chiron's history fell into the latter category. I might be more than a wee bit tactless when I let my temper get away from me, which I'll admit happens more often than it should. But I wasn't insensitive to what might be a touchy subject, at least when it came to nice guys like Chiron.

"I don't know about should be." the centaur said hesitantly. "The truth is that I _can't_ be dead. Eons ago, the gods granted my wish. I could continue doing what I love: teaching heros as long as humanity needs me. I have gained much from that wish, and I have lost much. I'm still here, though, so I can only assume I'm still needed." I didn't know what to say. To give up on dying to teach uncountable demigods only for them to die in the end... well... that was probably about the bravest and most humbling thing I'd ever heard.

"Doesn't it ever get boring?" Percy asked. I rolled my eyes. It seemed that Percy lacked a bit of a mouth filter, just like I did. But he seemed sheltered enough to ask the obvious.

"No, no. It can be terribly depressing at times but never boring." he said morosely.

"Why dep..." Percy started.

"Percy!" I hissed.

"What?" he snapped. I shook my head.

"Everyone dies eventually." I whispered. Percy's sea green eyes widened in realisation. Chiron seemed not to have noticed our hurried conversation.

"Look, Annabeth is waiting for us." he said. The blond we'd met up at the Big House was leaning against the wall of the last cabin on the left, number eleven, reading a book. When we reached her, she looked Percy and then me over with a critical eye. Percy shifted from foot to foot and I averted my eyes nervously. Her stare was unnerving. I glanced at the title of her book but couldn't make it out. I thought at first that my dyslexic eyes had no desire to read that day. But then, I realised that the title was in Greek. The pictures on its cover suggested it was about architecture.

"Annabeth," said Chiron, interrupting my thoughts, "I have master's archery class at noon. Will you take them from here, please?"

"Yes, sir." she said respectfully.

"This is cabin eleven." Chiron informed us, motioning towards the doorway. "Make yourselves at home." Out of all the cabins, eleven appeared most like what I expected a regular old summer camp cabin would look like with a glaring emphasis on _old._ Looking over at Percy, I could tell he thought the same. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint pealing. Over the door was a carved caduceus: a pole with two snakes wrapped around it. I only knew what it was for two reasons. The first was that I'd come across the word in a Greek mythology book Hermione had made me read when we were trying to find out what was petrifying the students. It'd been murder to puzzle out so I'd asked her for help. The second reason was that magical healers wore the symbol sewn into their work robes. This included Madam Pomfrey. The cabin was jam-packed with kids of both genders. There were too many to fit on the bunk beds. As a result, sleeping bags were scattered on the floor. It looked like one of those emergency shelters I'd heard about in primary school. I hoped my godly parent claimed me soon. I don't know whether it's the ten years I spent with a cupboard for a bedroom or just a genetic quirk but I _hate_ cramped spaces. The dorms at Hogwarts were okay, each of us girls had their own space. But this looked like a human sardine can. Ugh! Chiron didn't enter as he was taller than the door. But the campers all stood and bowed respectfully when they saw him.

"Good luck to you both." Chiron said sincerely. "I'll see you at dinner." He cantered off toward the archery range without another word. Percy and I stood side by side in the doorway, looking curiously at all the kids. They weren't bowing anymore but sizing the both of us up. I knew how it went, I'd been through it at enough schools and especially when I'd entered the wizarding world.

"well? Go on, you two." Annabeth encouraged us. Naturally, my luck prevailed. Percy tripped coming in the doorway and I stumbled over his extended foot. My arms swung like propellers as I tried to keep my balance and I accidentally knocked Percy on the back of the head, causing him to sway forward along with me. In the end, both of us fell forward in a heap.

"Okay... _ ow!"_ I groaned, picking myself up.

"You're not the one who got hit in the back of the head with a fist." Percy huffed.

"Sorry!" I blushed and held out my hand. "Need a hand up?"

"Yeah, okay." Percy grumbled good-naturedly. Some of the campers were snickering as we dusted ourselves off.

"Percy Jackson, Alex Potter, meet cabin eleven." Annabeth announced.

"Regular or undetermined?" someone asked.

"Undetermined." Annabeth responded.

"Both of them?" one groaned.

"Yes." I said cooly before Annabeth could respond. More groans sounded. A guy who was a bit older than the rest came forward.

"Come on, you guys. That's what we're here for. Percy, you can take that bit of floor here. And Alex, you're small enough I think you can squeeze in there." he pointed first to a spot in the centre of the back wall of the cabin and then a small gap between the last bunk on the right and the wall. I held back a grimace. That would be _extremely_ uncomfortable. The guy who spoke to us appeared around nineteen. He was tall and muscular with short, sandy hair and an easy smile. He wore an orange tanktop, cut-offs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-coloured clay beads. The only thing marring his handsome appearance was a thick white scar which ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw. It reminded me of something like an old slash wound.

"This is Luke." Annabeth introduced with a blush. Her voice was higher like the type girls get when they're around their crush. Annabeth's expression hardened when Percy seemed to have noticed. "He'll be your counsellor for now."

"For now?" Percy asked.

"You're undetermined." Luke said patiently.

"Chiron said something about gods not liking undetermined campers poking into their cabins." I observed.

"That's right. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers and all visitors. This is only right as our father or patron is Hermes, the god of travellers."

"And thieves." I muttered. A few kids smirked. I wanted to warn them that if they stole my stuff I'd hex them or or retaliate in some other way but I shut my mouth. It wasn't as though I had anything to mark the minuscule bit of floor I'd been assigned. All my stuff was back at the Dursleys and the only thing I had other than the clothes I wore was the box of hellhound claws. I wasn't stupid enough to leave that behind, though. I glanced at the other campers, sizing them up the way they'd done to Percy and me earlier. Some looked sullen and suspicious, probably other unclaimed campers. Others were grinning stupidly. The rest looked like they wanted a chance to pick mine and Percy's pockets.

"How long will I be here?" I couldn't help but ask. Hopefully, there was some sort of precedent for claiming campers like "you shall be claimed on the second Saturday in July" or "You will be claimed on the night of the first new moon".

"Good question." said Luke contemplatively. "Until you're determined."

"And when will that be?" Percy cut in. The campers all laughed somewhat mockingly.

"What?" I snapped. "What will it take? For me to swim a hundred miles in a giant tub of lime jell-o in July under a bloody eclipse or something?" they laughed harder, especially who I assumed were the Hermes kids.

"Come on." Annabeth said quietly. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it." Percy responded.

"Just come on." she grabbed each of us by the wrist and dragged us out the cabin, the sounds of laughter echoing behind us.

"Potter, Jackson, you've got to do better than that." she said when we'd gone a couple of yards.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Were we supposed to put on some kind of show to be accepted?" I asked sarcastically.

"I can't believe I thought either of you were the one." she mumbled under her breath. I bit back a retort with great difficulty. But Percy pulled a me and showed no such restraint.

"What's your problem?" he asked angrily. "All I know is I killed some bull guy."

"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth snapped. "Have you any idea how many kids wish they'd had your chance? Either of you?"

"Are you bloody _INSANE?"_ I exploded. "Our chance? What, the chance to get ourselves _KILLED?_ Well they can have it because I'm _SICK_ of it. I confronted a twelve-foot mountain troll when I was eleven to save a friend. It took me sticking my wand up its nose and my friend levitating its club above its head and knocking it out to stop it killing us all. Later that year, we were faced with a three-headed dog. Luckily, my friends and I knew to put it to sleep. Next up, earlier this year, it was a colony of bloody acromantulas thirsting for _my flesh!_ My friend and I only escaped because of the enchanted car we'd flown to school that year when we'd missed the train. And then it was a bloody enormous basilisk a few weeks ago that almost _KILLED_ _ME!_ If not for my headmaster's phoenix, I'd have died from the venom. Let's not forget the weird instances that happened before my magic school like my teacher with the snake hair that I zapped to dust. And last but not least, that gigantic black dog! And you think I'm _lucky?_ That we're _both_ lucky?"

"Yes!" Annabeth snapped. "What do you think we train for?"

"Hmmm... the royal ballet?" I retorted sarcastically.

"_NO!"_ Annabeth shouted, going pink in the face. Percy shook his head in bewilderment while I took several deep breaths in an attempt to reign in my temper.

"Look. If the thing I fought really was _the_ minotaur, the same one in the stories, and Alex here really faced those creatures..." he trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"Which I bloody well did," I interjected.

"Well there's supposed to be only one, right? At least of the minotaur and cerberus?"

"Yes." Annabeth said cooly.

"And the minotaur died like a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. And the cerberus was put to sleep in the underworld by Morpheus... or was it Orpheus? But the three-headed dog isn't supposed to leave the underworld so..."

"Monsters like the minotaur don't die, Percy, not like we do. They can be killed but they don't die. And as far as the cerberus you faced, Alex, it's probably descended from the original Cerberus who's in the underworld."

"Oh, thanks. That clears it up." Percy snorted.

"The original monsters and some of their children haven't got souls like us. They can be dispelled for a while, maybe even a lifetime if you're lucky, but they're primal forces. Chiron calls them arche types. Eventually, they re-form." I thought about the basilisk. Even if it was apparently hatched by a human, did it count as a monster? Would it re-appear and try killing me again?

"You mean if I killed one with a sword by accident..." Percy trailed off, putting voice to my thoughts.

"The fur... ahem, your math teacher? That's right. She's still out there and probably quite angry with you." Annabeth nodded.

"I killed the basilisk the same way." I said quietly. "But it was hatched by a human, or so history says. Will it re-form and go after me?"

"It's hard to say." Annabeth shrugged. "You'll be able to tell by looking at what's left over. If there's nothing but dust and maybe a spoil the answer is yes. If there's a full corpse, no."

"I'm not sure. I was just concerned with getting out of there, to be perfectly honest." I sighed. "But thanks anyway, Annabeth. And I'm sorry for going mental on you. If you can't tell by now, I've got a bit of a wicked temper."

"I'd have never guessed." Annabeth said drolly. I grinned. "But really, I suppose it's all right. I guess you had a right to."

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?" Percy asked suddenly.

"You talk in your sleep." Annabeth grinned.

"You almost called her something. A fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?" Percy asked. Annabeth glanced at the ground with apprehension flickering across her face. It was almost as though she was expecting a fisher to the underworld to appear and suck the three of us in.

"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. If we have to speak of them, we call them Kindly Ones." she informed us.

"Is there anything we _can_ say without it thundering?" Percy asked, his voice slightly whiny. "Why do we have to stay in cabin eleven anyway? Why's everyone so crowded together? There's plenty of empty bunks right over there." Percy pointed to the first few cabins. Annabeth turned white.

"You don't just pick a cabin as you please, Percy. It's dependant on who your parent is."

"My mom is Sally Jackson." Percy said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station... at least she used to."

"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent, your dad."

"He's dead." Percy said flatly. "I never knew him."

"I don't know." I murmured. "Who was my mother... who was my father? Which was the god? I know who I look more like of the two I thought were both my parents but that's just assumption. They both died when I was a baby... I was there." Annabeth sighed. It was apparent she'd had this conversation before, or at least she'd heard kids say one of their parents was dead. But this was probably one of the first times she'd met a kid who didn't know because they'd never grown up with either parent.

"Your father's not dead, Percy. And Neither is whoever your godly parent might be, Alex." Annabeth said gently.

"How can you say that. You know him?" Percy asked. I sighed. Was he still not getting the _undetermined_ bit?

"No, of course not." Annabeth said, flustered.

"Than how can you be sure?" Percy asked. I understood now. Percy wasn't being held back by stupidity but simple denial.

"Because I know _you._ Neither of you would be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't no anything about me." Percy retorted.

"No?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "I bet the both of you moved around from school to school, kicked out at the end of every year."

"Since I was seven." I nodded. "The same would have been the case for my cousin except his parents... or mum and stepfather, rather, convinced the school board to let him stay at the local public school. But they didn't care what happened to me so long as I was out of their way."

"How?" Percy asked, referring to Annabeth's deduction.

"You were both diagnosed with dyslexia. ADHD too, most likely." Annabeth continued, ignoring us. Percy looked embarrassed and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"What's that got to do with anything?" I asked curiously.

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your minds are hard-wired for Ancient Greek. And as far as the ADHD, I bet you're impulsive. You can't sit still in the classroom, can you?"

"And I do stupid things on impulse because of my hero complex." I said under my breath. Percy blinked at me while Annabeth continued.

"Those are your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they keep you alive. As for the attention problems, it's because you see too much. Not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortals. But of course the teachers want you medicated. Most are monsters who don't want you seeing them for what they are."

"You went through the same thing?" Percy asked.

"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the monsters or been able to eat and drink the ambrosia and nectar." Annabeth nodded.

"Ambrosia and nectar?" I asked.

"The food and drink you were given to make you both better. Normal kids would have been killed by it. Your blood would have turned to fire and your bones to sand. Face it, you're half-bloods."

"Me in more than one way." I said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"In the magical world, I'm considered a halfblood, without the hyphenation mind you, because one of my supposed parents was born to an all wizard family and the other was a Muggle-born. That's a witch or wizard born to ordinary mortals." I explained.

"So there really are witches and wizards, huh?" Percy asked, stunned. I shrugged.

"Yeah, but not a lot. I'll tell you more if you want to know later." I offered. He grinned at me. The nice atmosphere was shattered by a rough female voice shouting.

"Well look at that! Two newbies!" we looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was lumbering towards us. She had three girls behind her. And next to her, my dreaded cousin Dudley waddled.

"Clarise." Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess. So I can run you through with it Friday night." the bigger girl growled.

"Erre es korakas!" Annabeth spat at her in Greek. Somehow, I understood it meant "go to the crows," though I supposed the meaning was worse. Maybe something like the modern "go to Hell" or "go fuck yourself". "You don't stand a chance!"

"We'll pulverise you!" Clarise snarled, though her eye twitched. She turned towards us. "Who're these little runts? Forget runts, that one's a downright midget!" she pointed at me. I scowled. Yes, I was small, but that didn't mean I was a midget. At least, if you bothered to look past my face, you could tell that I was barely starting to look a bit more woman than girl. But to those who just glanced, I still looked like an eleven-year-old girl.

"Percy Jackson and Alex Potter, meet Clarise, daughter of Ares." Annabeth introduced reluctantly.

"No introductions needed between me and this one," I said coldly, pointing at a scowling Dudley. "Hello, Dudley. Don't you have something better to do? Like beat on a ten-year-old?"

"Shut up, freak." he snapped.

"Very clever. Guess I'm _not_ such a freak, now am I? After all, We're practically the same."

"I'll _never_ be the same as you." he spat in disgust. "At least _I_ know who _both_ my parents are." A crack of angry thunder sounded.

"Yeah, a horse-faced, jealous cow and the most brutal god of all. I bet you're happy to have an entire gang of brothers and sisters who're just like you." I snapped.

"You're dad's the war god, right?" Percy asked, gaining his whits. "I guess it explains the bad smell then. pe-yoo!" he pinched his nose.

"Imagine growing up around that one." I smirked, pointing at Dudley. He and Clarise growled furiously.

"We've got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy." Clarise grinned manically at Percy.

"That one's all yours, sister. But Potty's all mine. Don't think I've forgotten about the toilet thing back when we were eleven; I remember that. And because of that, I'll be following through on my promise. And your little boyfriend will join you."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend." I snapped at him.

"My name's _PERCY."_ Percy scowled at Clarise.

"Whatever! Let us show you." Clarise smiled maliciously at us.

"Clarise, Dudley..." Annabeth tried to say.

"Shut it, wise girl." Clarise ordered.

"Or you'll join them." Dudley added. Annabeth looked conflicted but she stayed out of it. I didn't want her help anyway. I knew I'd only get more flack from Dudley if I had someone else fight my battles. His opinion didn't exactly matter to me but the ways he expressed it were annoying as hell. Percy gave Annabeth his minotaur horn while I passed her the box of claws. Both of us prepared to fight. But before Percy knew it, Clarise had him by the neck and was dragging him off. Dudley lunged at me but I sidestepped, wheeled about, and bolted the opposite direction. Usually, I'm able to run off before anything happens. But one of his brute sisters came up behind me and grabbed my foot. I fell to the earth with a painful thud. Seconds later, the other two Ares girls had me under the arm pits and were half carrying, half dragging me the same direction Percy was going. Ahead, I could see Percy kicking and punching at Clarise. But her grip looked tight and strong. I attempted kicking the bigger girls behind their knees but was largely unsuccessful. The one time I did hit the girl on the left her grip tightened painfully. I bit at the girl on the right who cursed and tightened her vice grip as well. So I had to resort to taunts.

"I see you finally found yourself some reliable thugs, Big D. And of the fairer sex, too. I'm impressed. I should have guessed the only ones who'd so much as look at you were your own half-sisters. After all, you've got a face only a mother can love."

"Shut up!" Dudley yelled, growing red in the face. Slowly, we approached a cinder block building which was marked as being the bathroom. Both Percy and I were dragged into the girls' bathroom. Looking behind me, I saw Dudley smirking in the doorway. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. On the back wall was a line of sinks and those crappy air-drying things. You know, the ones that can't seem to get your hands dry enough. Some were hand height and others were higher, as if for hair. The bathroom reeked like one of the public ones at an out-of-the-way rest area we'd stopped at during the mad dash away from the Hogwarts letters when I was eleven. That is to say it smelled like Dudley's moldy underwear. And yes, if you have to know, I _would_ unfortunately know the smell as I did all the laundry. I couldn't help but think that the gods could at least get their kids a classier place to take a piss. Clarise, Dudley, and the three other Ares girls were laughing their arses off at our expense. Percy and I were both struggling but couldn't get free.

"Like _they're_ big three material." Clarise guffawed as she shoved Percy towards one of the toilets. "The minotaur probably died laughing at how _stupid_ the boy is."

"And I bet the hellhound wanted to fight with _me._ My runt cousin just got there first. I heard she's got more scars to match those freak ones on her forehead and hand." Dudley bragged from the doorway as I was being dragged to the toilet next to the one Clarise and Percy were at. The other Ares girls laughed dumbly. Annabeth stood in a corner, watching through her fingers. The girls let go of me but my relief was short-lived as Dudley marched up and took me from them. He bent me over so I landed on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. The loo stank of old, rusty pipes and all the other unmentionables that go in toilets. I fought against my cousin's grip, trying not to let my head make contact with any part of the toilet. I would _not_ go into that if I could help it. Suddenly, I heard the plumbing rumble. I could hear water gushing forth in the toilet where Clarise held Percy. Dudley's grip on me loosened in surprise and I took the opportunity to kick him hard in the balls. He squealed like the pig he was and fell back out of the stall like a sack of potatoes. Stepping out, I could see Clarise being pelted with toilet water and screaming. Percy was sprawled on the tile floor. I scowled in anger then. These stupid thugs had _dared_ trying to give us swirlies just because they thought they were _such_ hot shit. Well they wouldn't get away with this. With that thought, I felt a tingling all over my body, and my hair fluttered in an unseen breeze. As Percy got himself into a sitting position, water blasted Clarise in the face so hard it knocked her on her butt. At the same time, a whimpering Dudley was trying to stand up. But his attempts were for nothing as a blast of air suddenly came from one of the wall-mounted dryers and slammed into his back so hard he was knocked on his face. The air stayed on Dudley like that from an air pump as the water did the same to Clarise like a water hose. But I knew it was Percy who was doing that bit. Clarise was pushed into a shower stall and Dudley under a lightbulb. He was laying in the toilet water which had blasted Clarise. Both struggled, gasping or whimpering in Dudley's case. The three other Ares girls split up to help them. But then, the other toilets acted up as well as the showers and the sinks. I jumped out of the way to avoid the worst of the blasts. But I was still soaked in a combination of shower, sink, and toilet water. Yuck! The water nailed the three unnamed girls, Clarise, and Dudley. But that wasn't enough for me. All the air dryers turned on and began blasting air. Also, as that happened, the lightbulbs burst and small ropes of electricity arched down and slammed into the five thugs, making their hair stand on end. The combination of water, air, and electricity surrounded them like a cocoon and they were spun out of the room like so much rubbish. As soon as they were out the door, the electric tingle vanished and my hair stilled. The air dryers turned themselves off and the electricity stopped coming out the empty light fixtures. The entire bathroom was flooded, no lightbulb was left in tact, and the shower curtains had been ripped right off. Though Percy had been spared the toilet water and I'd been unaffected by the electricity and air, Annabeth was soaked and her hair was sticking up all over the place. At least she was in the same place, staring at the two of us in complete shock. Percy looked down at himself and realised he was on the only dry bit of floor. Looking over at me, his surprise grew as he noticed that my hair hadn't done more than curl more than usual, though it was hard to tell since it was so wet. Percy stood up on shaking legs. I walked over next to him, my shoes splashing through the water.

"How did you...?" Annabeth trailed off, still shocked.

"I don't know." Percy shrugged.

"Usually, I do some sort of accidental magic. But now I've been learning it for a couple years... I don't know what that was. It felt different than my magic... like a power in my very blood." I said softly. The three of us walked to the door and looked out. Clarise, Dudley, and their friends were sprawled in mud. Their hair was a tangled mess which, especially in Dudley's case, stuck up madly even though it was wet. Campers had gathered around to gawk.

"Do you like your afro, cousin Dudley?" I laughed, pointing at Dudley's mud-caked blonde hair. He and Clarise shot Percy and me looks of absolute and utter loathing.

"You're _DEAD!"_ they shouted together.

"you want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarise?" Close your mouth." Percy shot back.

"Hey, Dud! I can make your fro permanent, you know. I'm sure it'd match that pig's tale you got two years ago perfectly. That is, of course, if you still had it." I added. Dudley's face turned bright red. Dudley and Clarise's friends had to hold them back. With some effort, the two were dragged off to cabin five while the other campers parted to make room for their flailing limbs. Annabeth stared between Percy and me. I wasn't sure whether she was disgusted at her state or royally pissed off at the two of us.

"What?" we asked nervously.

"What're you thinking?" Percy continued.

"We're sorry, you know." I added at Percy's nod.

"I'm thinking," she grinned wickedly, "That I want both of you on my team for capture the flag."

A/N 2:

Thanks to everyone for their awesome reviews! Though I don't always respond directly, I want you all to know how much I appreciate them. Every review I get makes me feel the kind of giddy anticipation that Christmas brings to little kids who await their presents. So thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:

Hello! Here's the next chapter as I promised last weekend. I hope you all like it. Before I get into the story, I want to thank Perseia Jackson, the author of the Sea's Daughter fics on this site, for creating the cover image for me. I'm crap at that sort of thing so I'm really glad she helped me. Hopefully, the image is actually showing up now because it wasn't last night right after I set it as the cover. On another note, I'm really sorry for spelling Clarisse's name as "Chlarise" in the last chapter. I'll try getting around to fixing that soon.

If you guys have a minute to review, I'd really appreciate your feedback. They're like candy; I just can't seem to get enough. Feedback fuels me for more writing. But I also appreciate your favourites and follows. So thanks again! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Four: Conversations, Contemplations, and Crazy Traditions

"Is that so?" I grinned at Annabeth. "Well as long as I'm _not_ on Dudley's team I'll be happy. Plus, I'd love to zap him again, the rotten git."

"I don't blame you. You actually _live_ with him?" Annabeth asked, incredulous. I scowled.

"Yes. Unfortunately for me, I'm related to him no matter who's my godly parent. But if my mum really _was_ who I think, than I'm related to him _two_ ways. I always thought he was the son of a brute. The only thing that's changed is he's the son of a _super_ brute. It really _does_ fit. He's got a piggy face to match with that boar's head above their door." I laughed.

"You shouldn't be so flippant, especially if you wind up meeting a god you insulted in the future." Annabeth warned. I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"All right, Miss Expert. But technically, I'm insulting Ares's boar and Ares's prat son, not Ares himself. Though I don't even want to think about how he wound up screwing..."

"Okay, okay, enough!" Annabeth exclaimed, throwing her arms up in dismay. Percy snickered. "I get it. Can we move on now?"

"Sure thing." I grinned. As we walked through the camp, I caught other kids whispering about the bathroom incident already. Then again, they could have been just talking about how frightful we looked. Percy's hair was still sticking up, I was still drenched, and Annabeth was just a wreck, plain and simple. We were shown to a few places we hadn't covered with Chiron yet. First, we saw the metal shop where kids were forging their own weapons. Next, we popped into the arts and crafts room where satyrs were sand blasting a statue of a goat-man hybrid thing that resembled them in some ways but not entirely. After that, we stopped by the climbing wall. In actuality, it was two facing walls which shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and slammed together if you didn't make it to the top at a quick enough pace.

"Now _that_ looks like fun." I grinned manically.

"I thought you were sick of risking your life?" Annabeth asked acidly. I sighed.

"I am if I'm going in blind. I hate being led around by the nose, only being given a few clues here and there to figure out a situation. I'd rather be prepared for everything before I jump into things. I just... haven't had the chance yet. I guess I'll need this training for whatever happens here or back at school. If I'm going to be defending myself and others, well, I'll take all the opportunity I can get to make sure I survive by more than dumb luck." I said, my face taking on a determined expression. I knew, even if I didn't like to admit it, that I'm too curious for my own good. I probably _would_ be going into more situations without thinking first in the future. But I was hell-bent on being prepared the next time. I was still, even if I didn't show it as openly as Percy, having trouble accepting the fact I was a demigod. My head accepted it but my heart didn't yet. But I wasn't going to throw away the chance to prepare myself for whatever could happen.

"I'm sorry." Annabeth said contritely. "It's just that, when you said you were sick of almost getting yourself killed, I thought you wouldn't be putting in any effort. I thought for a bit that you'd be the type of demigod who's in denial and wants nothing to do with the camp and what it stands for."

"I understand." I said softly. "I got the impression that maybe you guys would just go out to fight a monster for the glory of it. But I guess you train to be able to protect yourselves. Right? I suppose I spoke too quickly."

"Don't we all?" Percy grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well you are kind of right about the glory thing. If one of us slays a monster, that means it can't bother any unprotected demigods for awhile at least. It's something to take pride in." Annabeth explained. "You both should be proud. We're not expecting you to love fighting monsters."

"You mean like the Ares kids?" I grinned. Percy and Annabeth both laughed a bit, clearly glad that we were all on the same page now. Walking at a relaxed pace, we went back to the canoeing lake where a trail back to the cabins started. I took a deep breath at the sight of the deceptively placid water.

"I've got training to do." Annabeth said shortly. "Dinner starts at 7:30. Just follow your cabinmates down to the mess hall."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets." Percy said nervously.

"And the electricity and air." I added.

"Whatever." she shrugged.

"It wasn't my fault." Percy defended himself.

"An accident." I tacked on. She looked at us, particularly Percy, with scepticism. I realised that, even if I hadn't meant for Annabeth to be caught up in it all, I _did_ mean to shock the hell out of Dudley and his thugs.

"I guess it was my fault." Percy murmured. "Like I became one with the plumbing." I burst out laughing.

"What is plumbing, Percy? The new-age force or something?" I grinned mischievously at him. I guess the one good thing about going away to those schools was the movie nights. I fell in love with Star Wars when I was nine.

"You know what I mean." he protested. I simply grinned.

"You two need to talk to the oracle." Annabeth interrupted our banter.

"Who?" we asked together.

"Not who, what. I'll ask Chiron about it." Annabeth responded. I looked up into the cloudless blue sky as though all the answers to my questions were hidden in its infinite depths. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy waving at something. Following his gaze, I was shocked to see what appeared to be two teenage girls at the bottom. They had loose brown hair which minnows swam through like some sort of tangled playground. They wore jeans and shimmering green T-shirts. One of them caught my eye and shook her head in something that looked like disapproval.

"Don't encourage them." Annabeth warned Percy. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"Naiads?" I asked, shocked. I knew of basic merpeople but not naiads.

"I want to go home now." Percy sighed. Annabeth frowned in frustration.

"Don't you understand? You _are_ home. Here, this camp is home to us. It's the only place where kids like us are safe."

"You mean mentally disturbed kids?" Percy asked dryly.

"Demigods." I sighed.

"That's right. You both have a parent who's an Olympian."

"That's crazy." Percy denied again.

"Hard to accept, isn't it?" I grimaced.

"It is." Annabeth nodded. "But there's nothing crazy about this. What did gods do most in the old stories?"

"Went around seducing and screwing humans." I responded a bit sourly.

"Not how I'd put it but essentially right. And most of the time, kids came out of the deal. Do you really think they'd change their habits in the last several thousand years?"

"But those are only..." Percy trailed off, probably remembering what Chiron had said earlier. "But if all the kids here are half gods..."

"Demigods," Annabeth corrected. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Than who's your dad?" Percy asked. Annabeth clenched the railing of the peer with a white-knuckled grip. I frowned.

"Percy!"

"What?" he asked, not getting the hint.

"Wasn't that a little sexist? Remember Neville? He's Demeter's son. Demeter is a _goddess."_ I pointed out.

"Oh... sorry." Percy said, chagrinned. Annabeth shrugged.

"My father teaches American history at West Point." she answered. "I haven't seen him since I was little."

"Oh. So who's your mom?" Percy asked, bouncing back to his curious self.

"Cabin six." Annabeth responded.

"Which is for children of?" I prompted.

"Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle." she said proudly.

"And my dad?" Percy asked. I rolled my eyes. Denial wouldn't help any.

"Undetermined." Annabeth huffed. "Just as I said, nobody knows yet."

"My mother must have known." Percy responded.

"Not necessarily. Gods don't always reveal who they are to their mortal lovers." Annabeth said carefully.

"My dad would have. He loved her!" Percy said indignantly.

"Who knows?" I pondered aloud. "Did my parent _love_ me enough to show they give a damn? Or did they let me believe in a lie because they _loved_ me?"

"There's rules about that sort of thing, Alex. Gods can't contact their kids before they know about them. And they can't raise them either." Annabeth said gently.

"Bloody stupid rule if you ask me." I spat viciously.

"Maybe so." Annabeth said noncommittally. "But anyway, the only way either of you will have the answers you're looking for is if your parent first sends you a sign. That's how they claim us as their children. It happens a lot of the time."

"And the rest of the time it doesn't?" I asked sharply. "So they don't even have the common decency to admit that they have a kid? If they want to fuck around with a mortal, why can't they fess up to the consequences and say "hey, that's my son or daughter?" No wonder some of the kids back in eleven looked so damned depressed."

"The gods are busy." Annabeth said softly, running her hand along the rail. "They have a lot of kids and they don't always get around to..."

"Acting like they give a damn?" I snapped. I'd grown up being told my parents died because they didn't care about me so had no reason to hang onto life. I always held hope that they did care, though. That I was loved by someone.

"I'll be damned if I let go of the concept of my parents loving each other and me so fast. I'm not going to base my life off of the experiences of a few sorry sods that didn't get claimed. So excuse me, Annabeth, if I'm not deflating before your eyes at your revelation." I continued heatedly.

"You're excused." Annabeth said cooly. "It's nice to see someone thinking positively in any case."

"Glad I've pleased you." I said dryly.

"So I'm stuck here for the rest of my life?" Percy asked, dismayed.

"It can go either way. Some campers, like the children of Aphrodite and Demeter, only stay the summer. Most of them aren't particularly powerful forces. The monsters might ignore you. In that case, you can get by with just a few months of summer training. But for a lot of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us and come to challenge us. Most of the time, they ignore us until we're old enough to cause any trouble. Usually around ten or eleven. After that, though, most demigods either make their way here or get killed off. Some manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Trust me, you wouldn't believe just who're like us. You'd know them if I said any names. Some don't have any idea they're demigods. But they're few and far between."

"That's a lot to take in." I said. "To think that some random actor, singer, or politician could be a demigod... that's pretty wicked."

"And strange." Percy added. "So monsters can't enter camp?"

"Not unless they're stocked in the woods or summoned by someone on the inside."

"Why on earth would anybody want to summon them? It's one thing to train so you can fight them if you have to. But to summon them...?" I trailed off, taken aback. Annabeth shrugged.

"Usually, only the less bothersome ones are summoned. They can be brought forth for anything from practice fights to practical jokes."

"Practical jokes!" I exclaimed. "What kind of an idiot... ah... don't answer that. Dudley and his lot, most likely. Or the Hermes kids." Or the Weasley twins, I thought to myself.

"The point I'm trying to make here is that the boarders are here to keep monsters and mortals out. All mortals see when they look at the valley is an ordinary strawberry farm thanks to the mist."

"Wow. That sounds better than any old Muggle repelling charm." I grinned.

"Of course. Wizards only have a clumsy grasp on mist manipulation. They can make it so that people don't see something but they can't disguise something as something else."

"I guess it makes a twisted kind of sense." I nodded. "After all, if the only reason the magical world exists is because of the gods, wizards couldn't be allowed to become too powerful."

"Exactly." Annabeth grinned.

"So you're a year-rounder?" Percy asked Annabeth, changing the subject. The girl nodded and pulled a necklace just like Luke's from in her shirt. The only difference was that hers had a gold ring strung on it.

"I've been here since I was seven." she explained. "Every August, on the final day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counsellors and they're all pretty much in college."

"Wow. That's so... young." I finished lamely.

"Why did you come then?" Percy added. I rolled my eyes and Annabeth twisted the ring on her necklace.

"None of your business." she said sharply.

"Oh." Percy said awkwardly. "So if I want, I can just leave?"

"It'd be your death. But you could with either Chiron or Mr. D's permission. But they wouldn't give it until the end of the summer unless..." she trailed off longingly.

"Unless?" Percy prompted.

"Unless you were granted a quest. But that almost never happens. The last time..." her voice trailed off. It seemed it hadn't gone well.

"Back in the sick room when you were feeding me that stuff, Percy started.

"Ambrosia." Annabeth filled in.

"Right, that. You were saying something about the summer solstice."

"I remember you asking me the same thing." I added. Annabeth tensed.

"So you two _do_ know something?" she demanded.

"Nope! All I know is that it's the day with the longest amount of daylight of the year. And I only know that much because my teachers pounded it into my head back in primary." I shrugged.

"What about you?" Annabeth asked Percy impatiently.

"Not exactly. I only know that people are talking about it. Back at Yancy, my old school, I heard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned not having much time or something. He said it was because of a deadline. What does that mean?" Annabeth's fists clenched.

"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs do but they all refuse to tell me. Something's wrong in Olympus, something major. The last time I was there, everything seemed so _normal."_

"You've been to Olympus?" I asked, awed. "Brilliant!"

"Yeah, it is. Some of us year-rounders, Luke, Clarisse, me, and some others took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods hold a big council. They gather like that every year."

"But how did you get there?" Percy asked.

"The Long Island Railroad, naturally. You get off at Penn Station and go to the Empire State Building. Once you're there, you take a special elevator to the 600th floor." She looked between us as if we ought to already know this. Annabeth seemed nice enough, though she was often a presumptuous little twit in those days. "Aren't you a New Yorker, Percy?"

"Yes." Percy nodded.

"Have you ever been to New York, Alex?" she asked me.

"I'd never left Surrey much before I went to Scotland for school. This is my first time in America." I responded.

"Hmmm. Well anyway, a bit after we visited, things started turning weird. The weather started acting up as though the gods were fighting. I've overheard the satyrs talking a few times. The best I can gather is that something's been stolen and it had better be returned by the summer solstice or there's going to be big trouble. When you guys came, I was hoping... Athena can get along with practically everyone except Ares. And then there's her rivalry with Poseidon. But aside from that, I thought we could work together. I hoped that at least one of you would know something." Annabeth sounded frustrated, hopeful, and a touch desperate at the same time. Percy shook his head, clearly overwhelmed. I blinked and shrugged.

"I've got to get a quest. I am _not_ too young. If they'd just tell me what the problem is..." Annabeth muttered to herself. As she was speaking, I caught a whiff of smoke, like from a grill. My stomach growled noisily in almost perfect sync with Percy's.

"Why don't you go back to the cabin?" Annabeth suggested. "I'll catch up later."

"Sure." I shrugged.

"Later!" Percy waved casually as we walked away. Back at cabin eleven, the campers were talking or horsing around, readying themselves for dinner. Now that I wasn't going through so much sensory overload, I couldn't help but notice the similar features of many of the kids. Sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, and mischievous smiles were the most noticeable. The Weasley twins would probably fit in well with this lot, I mused. But they lacked the distinctive features. They were definitely _not_ sons of Hermes. Though I couldn't help but wonder if they were descendants of him somehow. Was that even possible? Fortunately, nobody paid Percy and I any mind as we walked over and plopped on the floor. I refused to squeeze into the space I was given just to relax so sat beside Percy instead.

"Hope you don't mind." I said casually.

"Nah." Percy shook his head. Moments later, Luke came over. He definitely looked like his siblings, save the scar.

"I found you each a sleeping bag." he grinned. "And I stole you some toiletries from the camp store. I had to convince one of my sisters to snatch the... um... girl stuff for you, Alex, just in case." he said rather awkwardly. I blushed.

"I... I don't quite need that... not yet. But thanks." I mumbled.

"Yeah, thanks." Percy added sincerely.

"No prob." said Luke, lowering himself down to the worn floor so he sat in front of us.

"I don't belong here." Percy said suddenly. "I don't even believe in gods."

"That's how we all started." Luke said knowingly.

"And once you start believing? With more than just your head, I mean?" I asked tentatively.

"It doesn't really get all that much easier, kid." he said bitterly. The tone surprised me slightly because of the fact he seemed so laid-back.

"So your dad's Hermes?" I asked. Luke pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket and began scraping mud off the soul of his sandal.

"Yup! Hermes."

"The wing-footed messenger dude?" Percy clarified.

"Right in one, Percy. Messengers, travellers, merchants, doctors, and thieves. Anyone who uses the roads, basically. That's why you're staying with us. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors." Luke informed us.

"Ever meet your dad?" Percy asked. I elbowed him and he yelped. Luke grinned at our antics, though I noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

"Once." he said simply. Percy, to his credit, said nothing. Luke looked up and forced a smile.

"Don't either of you two worry about it. The campers here are mostly good people. After all, we're all a sort of extended family. We take care of our own here." he said reassuringly. I smiled gratefully up at the older boy. It really was nice of him to be talking to a couple of preteens like Percy and I. It didn't even cross my twelve-year-old mind that Luke might be more than what he was showing us. But he never was all evil. Just led astray. But that's for later.

"Clarisse and her brother... what was his name?" Percy asked.

"Dudley." I responded. At Luke's curious glance, I added, "If my mum's mortal, he's my first cousin."

"Right." Percy nodded. "Well they were both joking about Alex and I being big three material. And then, Annabeth said twice that one of us might be the one. She also said we ought to talk to the oracle."

"it was downright weird." I added. "Here's this girl that we've barely met asking all these questions. I wouldn't have known her from Eve before today. What's up with all the fuss being kicked up?"

"I hate prophecies." Luke said, folding his knife.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked. Luke's face around the scar twitched.

"Let's just say that I messed things up for everyone else. For the last couple years, ever since I went to the Garden of the Hesperides and it all went south, Chiron hasn't allowed anymore quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She bugged Chiron so much he finally caved a bit and said he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the oracle, though he wouldn't tell her the entire thing. He said that she'd get her chance when someone... special came along." I nodded. That quest Luke mentioned must have been where his scar came from, though I knew better than to ask.

"Somebody special?" I asked curiously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Percy wondered aloud.

"Don't stress, guys. Annabeth wants to think that every new camper is the omen she's been looking for. C'mon now, it's time for dinner." as he finished speaking, a horn of some sort blew in the distance.

"Eleven, fall in!" Luke hollered over the din. The entire cabin, consisting of about twenty-one, lined up in order of seniority in the common area.

"We both got here at the same time." I pointed out to Luke.

"Fine then. Who's oldest?" he asked.

"We're both twelve." Percy added. Some of the others groaned.

"Birthdays then." Luke prompted.

"July 31." I said.

"August 18." Percy sighed, stepping behind me.

"We can switch every meal if it makes you feel better. We're less than a month apart in age anyway." I whispered.

"All right." Percy grinned sheepishly. I noticed that the other campers were lined up like we were, exiting from the cabins. All, of course, except for the three empty ones on the end and cabin eight. It'd looked normal during the day but was starting to glow silver now the sun was setting. Still in our lines, we marched up to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined the procession from the fields and naiads from the lake. Some girls also came out of the woods, literally. They were melting out of the trees, either walking or skipping up the hill. Altogether, there were roughly a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen combined naiads and wood nymphs. At the pavilion, torches flared brightly, placed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table which was covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty but cabin eleven's was overfull. The hermes kids smirked at Percy and I and pointed to a small spot on the end of one bench.

"Since you're both so good together." one of them chuckled.

"Just don't fall head over heals, will ya?" another quipped.

"Ha ha. Very funny." I said in a deadpan voice. Luckily, Percy sat down first. I was glad to have the end seat, even if my rump _was_ hanging half off. Grover sat at table twelve with Mr. D, a few other satyrs, and a couple plump blonde boys who looked just like Mr. D. He was most likely their dad. Chiron was standing on one side as the table was not built for a Centaur. Annabeth was seated at table six with a bunch of serious-looking kids, all built like athletes of one sort or another. All had her grey eyes and honey blonde hair. Dudley and Clarisse sat behind us at the Ares table. They'd both apparently gotten over being hosed down, zapped, and blown out of the bathroom because they were belching and laughing boisterously along with their siblings. As my eyes took in the sight, I noticed that one of the girls at another table seemed to be changing colours. Her hair was, at least. Some of her siblings were groaning in dismay.

"Come on, Nymphadora. Cut it out already!" one of the girls said loudly.

"Don't call me that!" the shifting girl snapped irritably.

"Honestly." another girl huffed. "Mother's gift of changing appearances is passed to _you_ of all people and what do you do? Stupid things, that's what. Gods, get rid of that pig nose!" I tapped my fingers on the table in thought. Wasn't that the older girl Neville had mentioned? It seemed like she didn't get on all that well with her other siblings. After a few minutes, Chiron pounded a hoof on the marble floor of the pavilion and everyone fell silent.

"To the gods!" he toasted, raising his glass.

"To the gods!" everyone repeated, raising their own. Wood nymphs came forth with heaping platters of food. It all looked delicious.

"Speak to your glass and you'll get it. That is, of course, as long as it's non-alcoholic."

"Cherry coke." Percy ordered his glass. With not even a second's pause, his glass filled with the soft drink. He grinned.

"Blue cherry coke." he ordered. The contents of his glass turned a deep, dark blue. Percy took a sip and his grin widened. Scrapping together my courage, I spoke to my own glass.

"Butterbeer." my glass immediately filled with the butterscotch-coloured beverage.

"How'd you do that? It can't be alcoholic." Luke said, stunned.

"It isn't. It's a wizard drink, kind of like root beer. I could order pumpkin juice but I can't stand the stuff." I told the Hermes table at large. Grinning, I decided to do something a bit different with my butterbeer.

"Make it Gryffindor red with specks of gold in it, please." I said to the glass which changed immediately.

"What's with the red and gold?" Percy asked.

"They're the colours of the house I'm in at school." I explained.

"Oh." Percy said, probably not quite getting it.

"What's with the blue?" I asked. Percy's smile dropped for a moment.

"My mom always made blue candy and sweets. She started doing that when she and my stepfather started arguing over the existence of blue food when I was little." he explained.

"Neat." I said, trying to lighten his somber expression.

"Yeah." he allowed himself a half-smile.

"Here you go," Luke interrupted our short conversation. He set a platter of smoked brisket in front of us. I loaded my plate followed by Percy. Both of us had our forks loaded down with the beefy goodness when it became apparent that nobody else was eating. Instead, they were all getting up and carrying their plates towards the big fire in the centre. What were they doing, I wondered.

"Come on." Luke urged us. Perplexed, we stood up and followed him over to the brazier. Everyone was taking bits of their meal and tossing them into the flames. Some of these bits included juicy strawberries, tender-looking clumps of beef steak, and a flaky roll which was oozing with butter.

"What are they doing?" I whispered to Luke.

"Giving offerings to the gods." Luke murmured. "They like the smell."

"You're kidding!" Percy exclaimed, incredulous. Luke looked on him with a stern gaze. But I didn't blame Percy for not believing it. What was so great about the smell of burnt food? The only difference was that it smelled marginally better than other burnt... stuff. Luke was next up to squeeze in by the fire.

"Hermes." he said, bowing his head and tossing in a cluster of fat red grapes. Percy was next. He tossed in the best bit of his brisket. Strangely, he inhaled the scent as if it was the most delicious thing that his nose had ever sampled. Shrugging, I stepped up after him. Taking a deep breath, I flung half my brisket into the dancing flames.

"To whoever you are." I said softly. As the smoke wafted up and tickled my nostrils, I was shocked at how _good_ it smelt. It smelled like everything that was right in the world. The scent of the air before, during, and after a thunderstorm. Freshly cut grass and the stargazer lilies I had found when my aunt took me along to a nursery once. Hot apple cider by the Gryffindor fire in the dead of winter, and the smell of a grand Hogwarts feast. None of these things should have belonged together. But the aromas swirled and intermingled in a way that was just right on my senses. I found myself feeling at least a little relaxed for the first time all day as I walked contemplatively back to the Hermes table. As far as I was concerned, that first meal at camp was even more magical than the one I'd so enjoyed my first night at Hogwarts. When everyone had had their fill, Chiron pounded his hoof again in order to gain our attention. Mr. D got up and sighed the put-upon sigh of the long-suffering. And I suppose he was as far as he was concerned. Lush.

"I suppose I'd better say a rousing, cheerful hello to all you brats. Hello!" he grumbled. Dionysus's "hello" wasn't at all rousing or cheerful. In fact, just that one word was layered with spite and a lack of care for what he was doing. "Our activities director, Chiron, says that the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five currently holds the laurels." Ugly, noisy, hooting cheers sounded from the Ares table. Some, like Dudley, had pumped their fists in the air, smirks of twisted triumph lighting their hard faces.

"To be blunt, I really couldn't care less." he continued, bored. "And I suppose I should tell you as well that we've two new campers with us today. Percival Daxton and Angelica Proudfoot." I saw Chiron whispering something in Mr. D's ear.

"Right then, ahem. Perseus Jackson and Alexandria Potter. Hurrah, yippy, and yay. Now why not go on to your silly campfire thing? What are you waiting for? Go on!" everyone burst into loud cheering as we got up. We headed down to the amphitheater where Apollo's kids led us in a sing-along. Looking at the Apollo kids, I tried to see if I could recognise the one Neville had mentioned earlier since I'd already caught a glimpse of Tonks. I finally spotted her clumped in with her other siblings, singing her little heart out. I remembered seeing her around a few times, sometimes without her shoes or in mismatched clothes. I knew that this girl was her because of her cork necklace and radish earrings. I waved a hello and her smile widened. She didn't really have any friends at school that I knew of.

"Who're you waving at?" Percy whispered.

"Luna. One of the girls Neville told me about. She's a year below us in school." I whispered back. I had a lot of fun that night. We all sang songs about the gods, ate s'mores, and joked around. I found myself relaxing more as the night progressed. It seemed like I was clicking here like I never had before, not even at Hogwarts. Or at least not entirely. Later on, when the fire was shooting sparks into the clear, starry sky as it died, the horn blew again. With that signal, everyone got up and began heading back to their cabins.

Collapsing on my borrowed sleeping bag, I tried to get to sleep but couldn't. My head was still full of scattered thoughts and questions I hadn't voiced. Plus, I felt totally cramped. Some kids were tossing and turning, other kids were snoring loudly, and still others were talking in their sleep. I couldn't take it anymore. Huffing, I grabbed up the sleeping bag, the box of claws, and the toiletries just in case a Hermes kid thought it wise to prank them somehow. I could barely see more than vague shadows in the pitch blackness of the cabin. As a result, I found my foot making contact with something.

"Oof!" the something said. I looked down and realised that I had accidentally kicked someone in the side.

"Wha... what're you doing?" the someone whispered. I recognised the voice as belonging to Percy.

"It's stifling in here. I'm going to sleep under the stars." I whispered back.

"M'kay." he mumbled before turning over in his bag and falling right back asleep. Luckily, I was able to make it out of the cabin without any further complications. Stepping out onto the dewy grass, I took a deep breath of the natural air and grinned. Looking around, I decided to make camp by the central fire which still burned merrily. As I drew closer, I saw that the girl who'd been tending it earlier was still there, poking at the logs.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked me.

"Shouldn't you?" I returned without any snarkiness.

"Nope." she responded simply.

"Oh." I said, not able to think of anything else. "Are you Hestia, by chance? I'm sorry if I'm wrong but I do know a little about mythology and how Hestia's the goddess of the hearth and..." I was cut off by a light giggle.

"Don't wind yourself up so much. Yes, I am Hestia. Funny, you're the first one to ask in awhile." she said lightly.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. But the question to ask is why are you out here so late?" she enquired.

"I couldn't sleep. That cabin is too stifling and overfilled. I'm not a fan of cramped places and I'm a light sleeper." I explained to the childlike goddess.

"I understand." she said sympathetically.

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. You're not the first camper I've seen coming outside to sleep after they first get here. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm for you to sleep by the fire. Just don't make a habit of it." she said sternly. I blinked at the tone coming from what sounded like a nine-year-old girl. But I had to remember, no matter what a god or goddess looked or acted like, that they were still beings who were many times more powerful than even the strongest wizard on earth.

"I'll try not to." I replied sincerely. Hestia nodded in satisfaction. Nothing else was said between us as I crawled into my sleeping bag and stared up at the stars dotting the night sky like shining gemstones on an inky velvet cloth. My eyes traced the constellations that I'd learned in astronomy at Hogwarts. They all had a story, what was considered myth. But I was beginning to learn that many such myths had their basis firmly in reality. The crescent moon in the sky seemed to almost wink at me as my eyes slid closed and I fell into a peaceful slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

This must be a record for me! I pounded out this entire chapter today. I'd posted an author's note apologising for Chapter Four not showing up but deleted it afterwards. But an alert went out to people saying Chapter Five had been published. But as I said, it was just the author's note. As a result, A lot of people reviewed and PMed me to let me know they couldn't access chapter five. I felt so bad for misleading you all thanks to that stupid A/N that I pounded out this chapter with few breaks. So I'm really sorry if there's any typing goofs as I didn't proof-read this very closely.

I would have put capture the flag in here but I expanded the training part of the chapter a bit so decided to make capture the flag into its own chapter. I'll try to have Chapter Six: Capturing Flags, Discovering Dads, and All Such Crap As That out by Wednesday at the least, Sunday at the most.

I also found myself putting in a couple of named OC's during sword training as Alex will be using two blades and she was partnered with another twin blade user. I don't know anybody in the cannon Hermes cabin, or anywhere else for that matter, who uses them. So I had to make up an older female for her to spar with. She probably won't be a big part of the story at all but who knows? Jessica Leonides just shoved her way onto the page with her loud, vivacious, and rather annoying personality. Then, as I wrote her, Jessa's apathetic, blunt, deadpan twin sister Janessa slunk her way onto the page. Their widely used nicknames are Snoozy and Brighteyes, though you'll have to find out who's who. I hope they turned out okay. And I _really_ hope you enjoy this chapter and give me some feedback, criticism or no.

Chapter Five: Learning My Strengths... and My Not-Strengths

I found myself entering the waking world as some of the campers were leaving their cabins. I stared up at the flawless azure sky, still tinged faintly pink for the early hour, and smiled. Despite sleeping in a sleeping bag on the hard ground all night, I'd been out like a baby after suckling milk from its mother. Stretching, I stood and rolled up the bag. My nose caught a pungent odour and I realised it was me. My face scrunched up in disgust. I'd been so caught up in everything the day before that I hadn't bothered to shower. Yerg! I reeked of distilled toilet water and fungus. Hestia was on the other side of the fire, tending it with great care.

"Erm... sorry for stinking up your area last night." I said sheepishly. Hestia laughed.

"It's all right. But I do suggest that you take a shower before breakfast." she responded kindly. I returned it. I'd take talking to Hestia over bickering with Mr. D any morning. Okay, so maybe yesterday was more like early afternoon but still, I'd just woken up.

"Definitely. But is the girls' bathroom still..." I trailed off, not knowing how to put it.

"It's back in order." Hestia responded knowingly.

"Okay, thanks." I said gratefully. With that said, I picked up the rest of my things and turned away. But after I'd walked a few steps, I'd realised something.

"Hestia... erm... I haven't any other clothes." I blushed and picked at a loose thread on Dudley's hand-me-downs which they hadn't changed me out of after that fateful night.

"Oh! I suppose the camp store could spare an outfit or two until you can get some of your own. They'll be waiting for you once you're ready." she said. I blushed more heavily. Nice one, Alex, talking to a goddess about my lack of proper clothing. But at least she was nice about it and didn't look down her nose at me. With a final "Thanks!" I scampered off to the cinder block building. The bathroom was now dry, I noticed, and their were new lightbulbs. The smell was also less nauseating than before. But the place was still kind of grimy. I wondered again if, since their were so many bloody immortals, one of them could be designated as god of the bathroom or god of personal hygiene. Good thing Aunt Petunia would never see the place or she'd probably die of shock. The first shower stall I came to was empty so I slipped inside. It was one of those public showers where there's an outer curtain that separates you from the rest of the bathroom. Just inside, there's a little area with a bench on one wall to unload your clothes and such. Then, there's another curtain which leads into the shower itself. Sighing, I shrugged off my soiled clothes, grabbed what I needed, and stepped into the shower area. I turned on the spray only to discover that the water pressure sucked and the water was luke warm at best. Joy! It was like any shower I'd be allowed at the Dursleys. Hogwarts had spoiled me with its bathtubs and warm, fluffy towels, I supposed. As I emerged, to my shock, a fresh set of clothes and a basic pair of trainers awaited me. Towelling off, I slipped them on. To my surprise, they actually fit and the shoes were just my size.

"Thanks, Hestia." I murmured, hoping she could hear me somehow. Before I left the stall, I ran a brush through my hair, which took awhile since it was down to the middle of my back and tends, even now, to get quite tangled when it's whet. Luckily, whatever girl Luke had bugged to get girl stuff had included some scrunchies so I could pull my hair back. Grinning, I threw my hair back into a sloppy braid. After brushing my teeth, I headed over to the pavilion. When I entered, I noticed that most everyone was there already, including Percy. The only seat open near him was right next to him so I took it.

"Hello!" I greeted energetically. Percy groaned.

"Another morning person?" he grumbled. I nodded. Though I liked the solidarity of the night, it was habit for me to wake up early thanks to my aunt. After awhile, that kind of thing sticks with a kid whether they want it to or not.

"You must have been up with the sun this morning; I didn't see you in the cabin." Percy noted.

"Don't you remember?" I asked him.

"Remember what?" he queeried, clueless. I huffed.

"I went out to sleep under the stars last night. I couldn't see in there so I accidentally kicked you in the side. You woke up for a minute and asked me what I was doing before falling right back asleep." I told him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. So _that's_ why my left side's all twingy."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"No big deal." he said easily. Nothing more was said as we ate our breakfasts. What seemed like a few short minutes later, Annabeth was hovering behind us."

"What?" Percy asked her.

"I'LL be teaching you both Ancient Greek every morning after breakfast. The rest of the day, you two will rotate through the other activities to see what you're good at. Chiron thinks it's best that you two stick together for now."

"Works for me." I shrugged, getting up. Percy did the same and we followed the blond out of the pavilion. Over the next few hours, Annabeth showed us some basic letters and words in the language. Turns out she was right, Ancient Greek wasn't all that bad. Sure, I was still learning to read it but I imagined the experience being something more like a "normal" kid learning to read English, except about ten times faster. We also talked about the gods in the present tense which was still kind of strange. Percy and I also kept asking her what certain Greek phrases meant and how to say some sentences in the language. After awhile, Annabeth answered without really thinking about her responses.

"What does erre es korakas mean anyway?" I asked near the end of the session. "Is it like the modern go to hell?"

"It's something more like... hey!" she exclaimed, realising what I'd asked her. Percy and I both burst out laughing.

"You must be a daughter of Hermes." Annabeth mumbled sourly. "You love getting a rise out of people."

"Maybe." I grinned. "But I don't have the looks."

"Point taken." Annabeth sighed.

After we had lunch, Percy and I had a lesson in archery with Chiron. A few of the campers were on the outskirts of the range, looking to see how we did. With Percy, at least, only the children of gods were taking interest. But unfortunately for me, word had gotten around that I had perceived myself an orphan before this so didn't know whether my immortal parent was a god or goddess. For that reason, the children of goddesses were there as well. I let Percy try his hand at the bow and arrow first. To be blunt, he flat-out sucked at it. But at least Chiron was patient. He didn't even chew Percy out when he'd shot an arrow which got caught up in his tail. If it were me having to de-snag that thing... well... youch! I know myself well enough that Percy would probably have burst eardrums and a new legend of the haunted strawberry valley would spring up. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating. But I'd definitely have yelled.

"You next, Alex." Chiron said, stepping up beside me. After a few minutes of talking me through how to string and shoot, he deemed me ready. I set myself straight in front of the closest target. My eyes narrowed in concentration as they focused on the centre. Taking a deep breath in, I let the arrow fly. It shot straight and true, lodging itself a ring away from the bullseye. I was snapped out of my focused state to the sound of clapping from Percy, Chiron, and some of the other campers.

"You're good." Percy stated. I grinned proudly. The bow hadn't felt quite right and balanced in my hands but I supposed I'd not been too bad.

"Maybe she's one of ours!" an Apollo kid exclaimed in glee.

"I do not believe so." an airy little voice chimed in. It was Luna Lovegood.

"What makes you think that?" I asked curiously.

"The Tri-Faced Warpsters whispered in my ear last night. But they were very vague." she said matter-of-factly. I raised a curious eyebrow.

"Tri-Faced Warpsters?" I asked her.

"Yes. They're rather illusive little things. Very few can interact with them." she explained. No wonder the poor girl looked like she had no friends. She probably had some of Apollo's prophetic gift. That likely made her seem very strange to the other students. But that didn't give them the excuse to ostracise her.

"I understand." I told her. Her silvery blue eyes lit up as though she'd just been given a great gift.

"Thank you." she said softly before leaving the area. Shortly after that, Percy and I switched over to foot races. First, we just raced against each other. Percy was a decent runner but I was faster. Then, we went up against the wood nymph instructors. Poor Percy was left in the dust. Though I was a fast runner by human standards, I couldn't quite beat the nymphs.

"Don't worry," one chuckled, "we've had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods."

Even though I'd lost, I was feeling pretty good about training so far. Percy, on the other hand, was looking rather dejected.

"I can't believe I lost to a tree." he groused as we left the area.

"Don't worry about it. I lost too, remember?" I reminded him.

"Yeah, but you're still really fast." he sighed.

"Relax, won't you? I'm sure you'll find your place, Percy." I tried to comfort him. But I was only partly successful. After all, how could I assure my new friend he'd find his place at camp if I wasn't certain I'd find my own? The last thing we did that afternoon was wrestling. Unfortunately for us, the only two kids in the area were Dudley and Clarisse. I knew that wrestling was about brute strength and not running off like I did back in Little Whinging. Even more unfortunately, instead of it being boy vs boy and girl vs girl, Dudley decided he'd like to use me as a target. Clarisse did the same for Percy. I tried to use speed to my advantage in mowing my much larger opponent over. It didn't work and I found myself being plowed to the ground several times. Each time, Dudley would whisper "Not so high and mighty now," or "There'll be more where that came from." in my ear. As I stood on wobbly legs after the final thrashing of the afternoon, I saw Percy doing the same. Apparently, both of us were rubbish wrestlers.

"Never again." Percy groaned as we headed back to the cabin.

"I think Dudley's been wanting free whacks at me ever since I got fast enough to outrun him... ouch." I winced. That night went the same as the one before it and then, soon enough, it was lights out. Taking Hestia's words into account, I decided to try sleeping in the cabin instead of outside. I didn't really want to but I had no desire to piss off the goddess by not following her instructions. Lucky for me, I was so nackered that I had little trouble falling asleep. But my slumber wasn't quite as restful as it had been the previous night.

The next afternoon, we were rotating through activities yet again. To my misfortune, the first thing we did after lunch was canoeing.

"Do I have to do this?" I groaned, feeling a bit queazy. Luke, who was keeping an eye on us both, nodded. Reluctantly, I climbed into the boat and sat in the back. Percy took the middle and Luke the front. At first, Percy was the one with control of the ores. He was brilliant at controlling the boat, even if I was too nervous to admit it. But then, after about fifteen minutes, Luke suggested Percy and I switch places. So I got in the middle and Percy sat in back. As soon as I took control, the boat started wobbling. It couldn't stay steady and I was having trouble steering. THE ores moved through water like they might in a viscous potion, meaning they almost didn't.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed as the ore in my right hand fell into the water. I tried to reach in for it, hoping I could grasp it before it sank too far.

"Aaah!" the three of us screamed as the boat capsised, dumping all of us unceremoniously into the water. I began floundering immediately, I didn't know how to swim. My head kept going underwater and then popping out. I must have swallowed a gallon of the lake. Or that's how it seemed. After a minute, Luke got his whits together and grabbed my wrist. Percy took the other and the two did their best to propel us to shore. I kicked feebly, trying to help however I could. I felt a few sharp stings on my ankles as if something had nipped at or stung me. After a few long, agonising minutes, the three of us were laying sprawled on the shore.

"Did I forget to mention I can't swim?" I coughed.

"Must have." Luke said dryly.

"Guess canoeing's out for you, huh?" Percy added.

"Absolutely." I moaned, pulling myself to my feet. As I straightened my appearance the best I could, I heard snickering from the pier. There were people watching our training again. I scowled in annoyance. I couldn't wait until this first week was over. After drying off a bit, we went over to the forges to try our hand at metalworking. Neither of us were stellar, especially me. I almost flash-fried my face when the fire grew and turned white. I know now that it's my electric personality that nearly caused the forge to go kaboom. But back then, it was frustrating.

"Not any of ours." a Hephestus boy said, shaking his head in dismay as we left the forge. I couldn't help but feel glad.

"Should we try the strawberry fields?" Percy asked. I shrugged. Come to find out, neither of us were really gifted with vine plants. Or any plants, really. Sure, I knew what to do as far as growing things but that's only because my aunt's a garden freak and I took Herbology. I was well aware that the older campers had their eyes on Percy and me, trying to figure us out. With Percy, nobody had a clue who fathered him. But with me, people were taking bets.

"Five bucks says she's a daughter of Apollo." I heard one whisper as I passed.

"Nah. Ten says she's a daughter of a minor deity like Hecate." another rebutted.

"Maybe she's a daughter of Artemis." a third piped in.

"No, you nitwit. Artemis _never_ has children. All she has are her hunters." the first said in exasperation.

"Who knows." Luke said, trying to lift our spirits. "You could very well be Apollo's daughter, Alex. Or maybe the love god, Eros."

"You mean the cupid guy who shoots arrows at people?" I asked. "Ha! Fat chance. I don't know a thing about romance or matchmaking."

"Well I guess we'll just have to see what happens." Luke shrugged.

"What about me?" Percy asked morosely.

"I don't know." Luke said candidly. But at Percy's stricken look, he added "Maybe you're a son of Hermes. A jack of all trades and master of none." Percy didn't seem convinced. Neither did Luke, to be honest. And neither was I. I was starting to understand the bitterness some of the campers, including Luke, had towards their parents. Couldn't they at least have the decency to send something as simple as a half-hearted letter saying "Hi, I'm (insert name here) and I'm your godly parent? I hoped that I would be claimed soon so I could finally have some closure.

By Thursday morning, Percy and I were both reading lines from Homer's Iliad aloud without too much trouble. Learning Greek was like picking up a long-forgotten skill like playing the piano or something. Sure, you had to work at it a lot to get proficient but you still had the knowledge hidden away somewhere. On Thursday afternoon, a joint sword fighting lesson with the rest of cabin eleven was on the agenda. Luke was to be our instructor. He started us off doing some basic slashing and stabbing. Our targets were straw dummies stuffed into Greek style armour. I supposed I was doing okay enough but the sword felt off. It didn't quite balance right in my hand and I noticed that I leaned too much on the side which held the sword. For instance, if it was in my left hand, I leaned to my left. If it was in my right, I leaned to the right.

"You doing okay?" Luke asked, coming up to me. I frowned.

"I keep feeling all lopsided." I said contemplatively.

"How do you mean?" he asked.

"Like I'm not balanced out right. I feel vulnerable on whatever side isn't holding the sword. It's like that side isn't being used to its full potential. Like something should be in that hand. And I'm not talking my wand either." I tried explaining it the best way I knew how. Luke hummed in thought.

"Perhaps..." he trailed off and took the sword from my loose grip. Rushing off, he came back moments later with two identical swords, though they were shorter. More like daggers, really.

"Twin blades." he explained at my enquiring look. "Some people fight better with these. To start you out, I'm giving you what would be considered long daggers more than anything. But they should do for now, until you've grown a bit. Maybe you can transfer to longswords when you're a bit more trained up."

"Okay... thanks." I said, accepting the daggers. They felt better in my grip, though they still didn't quite suit me. Luke smiled and walked off. I returned to massacring the straw dummy after that, alternating what hand I slashed and stabbed it with. This really was good stress relief. I felt pretty proud of myself, even if I was pummeling an inanimate object. After awhile, we were put into pairs. Luckily for me, there was a daughter of Hermes who also used twin blades. But hers were much longer than mine. Poor Percy was paired up with Luke who the campers were calling the best swordsman in the past 300 years.

"C'mon, tiny. Gimme your best shot." the girl, whose name was Jessica Leonides, demanded. She had a thick Brooklyn accent which I was having a bit of trouble with at first, especially when she started talking more rapidly. I made the first move but she blocked me near expertly.

"Is that your best shot? You can do better than that, can't you? You're acting like you're swinging around a pair of kitchen knives!" she taunted, thrusting the blade on my left. She wasn't just beating me, she was practically annihilating me. Wham! Pow! A lunge and a clang! As I was basically getting the tar beaten out of me, she kept yammering on and on. Blah-de-blah-de-blah. Yikes! Did this girl _ever_ shut up? I must have asked that aloud for she started another new tangent.

"You know what they call me here, don't you? Snoozy. Snoozy Leonides. It's because I talk too much, I know. My twin sister, Janessa, says that I talk so much that all anybody wants to do is see me go snoozy-snoozy. They're all jus' sicka me. Ha! Get it? Jus' sicka? Jessica? Hahahahaha!" she laughed.

"I get it." I grumbled. Gods but this girl was annoying. It was only then that I realised she'd managed to knock one of the swords out of my grip. Her other sword was held to my throat.

"It's all about not letting yourself get distracted, you know. That's what I learned I'm really good at. Distracting people, I mean. If you're too busy focusing on one thing, you can't as easily do what needs to get done." she explained in her rapid manner. Luckily for me, it was at that time everyone was taking a break. They were all descending on the drinks cooler like wild beasts to a watering hole. Walking over to Percy, I asked him how he was doing.

"I think my bruises will have bruises. Luke's totally kicking my butt out there." he groaned as he swallowed a large gulp of water. "What about you? Who's that girl you were partnered with?"

"Snoozy." I said by way of explanation.

"Who?" Percy asked.

"Her real name's Jessica Leonides. but everyone apparently calls her Snoozy instead. She says it's because all they want is to see her sleep. I don't blame them; she never shuts up." I complained before chugging a glass of icy cold water myself. Just then, I saw Luke pouring some over his head, ice cubes and all.

"That looks like a good idea." Percy said before getting himself another glass and doing the same. Interestingly enough, it seemed that his exhaustion seemed to have vanished. He looked as fresh as a springtime daisy, the lucky git. After another minute, Luke called us to attention.

"All right, everyone! Circle up." he ordered us. "If Percy here doesn't mind, I'd like to give you a little demo." Percy didn't exactly look thrilled at this prospect. Most of the people from the Hermes cabin were suppressing smiles. This included Snoozy and a girl who looked just like her except for the fact that she was gazing at everything through a sleepy, half-lidded stare. She must be her twin, Janessa. I hoped Percy didn't get hurt too badly.

"What I'm going to show you all is a disarming technique. Once you've mastered it, you'll be able to disarm your opponent by using the flat of your sword to twist theirs out of their hand. But please keep in mind that this technique is very difficult. It can take years to master so no laughing at Percy." Luke explained it well. Then, he did the move on Percy. Sure enough, the sword fell from Percy's grasp.

"Now in real time." Luke said once Percy had picked up his sword. "We'll keep sparing until one of us pulls it off. ready, Percy?" Percy nodded and Luke came after him.

Surprisingly, Percy was able to keep Luke on his toes. Luke wasn't able to get a shot in on the hilt of Percy's sword. Then, Percy tried a thrust of his own. Luke was able to deflect it but it seemed as though he was taking Percy more seriously. Percy's movements seemed to be slowing. But then, in a desperate last effort, Percy tried the disarming move. It worked.

"Um... sorry." said Percy, lowering his sword. Luke was too stunned to say anything for a long moment.

"Sorry? By the gods, Percy! Why are you sorry?" Luke asked, grinning wildly. "Show me that again!" Percy seemed reluctant. It looked as though the younger boy was sapped of his energy again. This time, the fight was much more one-sided. The moment their swords connected, Luke hit Percy's hilt and sent it skid across the stone floor.

"Beginner's luck." a girl said in a deadpan voice after a long pause. It was Snoozy's twin who looked like she was half asleep.

"Yeah right, Brighteyes. Did you see that? I mean it was..." Snoozy started, though she was cut off by her twin.

"Jessa?"

"Yes, Nessa?"

"Shut up." the sleepy twin demanded lazily. Luke wiped sweat off his brow and looked at Percy with great interest.

"I do wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword, beginner's luck or not." Luke said thoughtfully.

The next day, Friday, was a bit more relaxed than those before it. Everyone was gearing themselves up for the capture the flag game that would take place later on that evening. The main thing Percy and I did was the rock climbing wall. For this activity, we were joined by Grover. I hadn't seen him since my first day at camp.

"This is totally... epic!" I shrieked in delight as I dodged a small boulder and scampered up a few feet. Percy didn't seem to think so, though. His shirt had some smoking holes in it and some of the hair on his arms was singed off. That's not to say I didn't have my share of scrapes. My hands and knees were skinned and I had a bruise on my left shoulder from where a boulder had nicked me. Grover had scampered up it like a mountain goat, coming away completely unharmed. After a few near-burns, cuts, and bruises we were all able to make it back to the ground and escape.

"That thing's a death trap!" Percy cried as we reached the dock at the canoeing lake.

"Aren't you being a bit dramatic?" I asked, stepping onto the wooden planks with some reluctance.

"No." he said shortly. I laughed. The three of us sat in silence for awhile, simply watching the naiads weave baskets. But then, Percy asked Grover a question that, to be honest, I wanted to ask myself.

"How'd your conversation with Mr. D go?" Grover's face turned a strangely sick shade of yellow.

"Fine. Just great." he said, though I could tell that was at least a partial lie.

"Is your career still on track?" I asked gently. "Because I hope it is."

"Chiron t-told you guys I want a searcher's license?" he asked, glancing nervously between us.

"Well... no." Percy responded for the both of us. Neither of us had a clue what that was. But it wasn't time to ask.

"He just said that you had big plans. Plans that needed the credit you'd get from completing an assignment as a keeper. Did you get it?" I asked him. Grover looked down at the naiads, his face the picture of shame.

"He suspended judgement. Percy, he told me that I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet. And Alex, I never really got a full chance to be a proper keeper since you were already protected by basic blood wards and the fact you'd be going off to your magic school the next year. My fate is still tied to both of yours. If either or both of you went on a quest, I went along to protect you, and we all came back alive than maybe he'd consider the job complete."

"Real generous, isn't he?" I asked grumpily.

"Well it could be worse, right?" Percy asked.

"Blaa-ha-ha!" Grover bleated in dismay. "He might as well have transferred me to stable cleaning duty. The chances that either of you would get a quest... and even if you did, why would you want _me_ tagging along?"

"Because you're a nice guy who deserves another chance." I said heatedly.

"And you're a really good friend." Percy added. Grover stared glumly into the water as if he hadn't heard us.

"Basket weaving... oh, to have a useful skill like that." he mourned.

"Don't talk like that." I reprimanded. "You're still a kid... at least in satyr years."

"Thanks." he said miserably. Percy also tried reassuring him but Grover only seemed to become more despondent. The three of us talked about other things for awhile, like swordplay. Then, we discussed the pros and cons of all the different gods. After awhile, Percy brought up the four empty cabins.

"Who does cabin eight belong to?" he asked.

"Artemis. She vowed to be a maiden forever so no kids for her. The cabin's just honourary. If she didn't have it, she'd be angry.

"Okay, I get that." I nodded.

"But what about the ones at the end? Are those for the Big Three?" Percy asked.

"I can't exactly see Hades allowing himself a cabin that looks like a woman designed it, Percy. Remember last night? The two end ones are Zeus and Hera's cabins. And is the third one Poseidon's, Grover?"

"Yes." he nodded. "When we say the Big Three, we're referring to the sons of Chronos."

"Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades?" Percy clarified.

"That's right. If you'll remember, after Chronos was defeated, they drew lots to see who got what."

"Zeus got the sky." I said thoughtfully.

"Yup." Grover confirmed.

"But Hades hasn't got a cabin here." Percy observed.

"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus either. He's usually in the underworld doing his own thing. But if he did have a cabin... well... it'd be scary, that's all I'll say." Grover shuddered.

"But didn't Zeus and Poseidon have, you know, armies of kids? Why are their cabins empty?" I asked. Grover shifted uncomfortably.

"Sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed not to sire anymore heroes. Their children were much too powerful. They affected the course of human events too much. Too much carnage was caused. The war was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side and Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them. The three were to have no more affairs with mortal women. They swore it on the River Styx." Grover informed us. Thunder boomed in the distance.

"What about the magical dark lord of that time?" I asked. "Was he... you know... a demigod?"

"No. Just a power mad, magically gifted, charismatic wizard. Thank the gods for that small mercy." Grover shuddered again.

"Swearing on the River Styx is the strongest sort of oath you can make." Percy said aloud. Grover nodded in affirmation.

"Did the brothers keep their word?" I asked. Grover's face darkened.

"Seventeen years ago, Zeus went back on his word. There was a TV starlet with a big, fluffy hairdo like they had back in that time, the eighties I mean. When their daughter was born, little Thalia, well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus got off easy because he's immortal. But Thalia wasn't so lucky."

"But that's not right! It wasn't the little girl's fault." I said hotly. Grover hesitated.

"Alex, children of the Big Three have powers that are greater than those of other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters like flies to honey. When Hades found out, he was furious that Zeus had dared break his oath. HE let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve. But there wasn't anything he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They'd almost made it, cresting the top of the hill before it happened." Grover pointed across the valley to the pine tree.

"All three Kindly Ones were after them along with a pack of hellhounds. They were about to be over-run when Thalia told her satyr to bring the other two half-bloods to safety while she held the monsters back the best she could. She was wounded and tired with no desire to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her but he couldn't change her mind and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone at the top of that hill. As she died, her father took pity on her and turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still protects the boarders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill." Grover finished sadly. His eyes held deep pain and regret and I knew who the satyr who he'd spoken of was. But I didn't dare voice it. I stared at the pine in the distance, tears covering my eyes like a watery film. I didn't know why but I was feeling a bone-deep loss that I'd only felt whenever people mentioned my parents' deaths. She'd sacrificed herself to get her friends to safety, facing uncounted monsters in the process. It made all the stupid things I'd done because I thought I was saving the wizarding world and, most important to me, my friends seem more than a little juvenile and petty.

"Grover," Percy said after awhile, "have heroes really gone on quests to the underworld?"

"Sometimes." he nodded. "Orpheus, Hercules, and Houdini to name a few."

"Wait, Houdini was a demigod?" I asked, unbelieving. Grover nodded and smiled slightly.

"But that's a story for another time." he said.

"Have they ever returned someone from the dead?" Percy asked. I sighed, feeling sad for my friend's pain.

"No, never. Orpheus came close, but... Percy, you aren't thinking..." he trailed off, worried.

"Of course not." Percy lied. I didn't call him on it. "I was just wondering. So, a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"

"Not always. We go undercover to a lot of different schools, trying to sniff out those who have what it takes to become great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we let Chiron know. He tries to keep an eye on them since they could cause really huge problems."

"And you found us both." I said quietly.

"Chiron said you thought I, and Alex too, might be something special." Percy noted. Grover looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I didn't... oh, please don't think like that. Listen, the both of you. Don't think like that. If you _were_ - you know, you'd never _ever_ be allowed quests and I'd _never_ get my license. Percy, you're probably a child of Hermes. Alex, don't be surprised if you find Apollo is your father."

"But neither of us look like a son of Hermes or a daughter of Apollo should look." I said. "The Hermes kids have those noses and eyebrows and the Apollo kids almost all have those big, silvery blue eyes like Luna."

"Well then maybe you're the children of minor gods. Nemesis, the god of revenge. Eros, a minor love god. And there's Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and crossroads. Just don't worry about it, okay?"

"Fine." I sighed. But I had the feeling he was reassuring himself more than us. Who was my godly parent, really? And who was Percy's? Hopefully we'd find out soon.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

I lied! I just _had_ to finish the capture the flag chapter ASAP. I couldn't help myself. And once I was half-way done, I was hell-bent on finishing the rest of it. So here you go! I hope the chapter is okay, I'm not the best at writing fight scenes. And writing the end bit out by Thalia's tree was very hard. I must have rewritten parts of the scene at least three times. So anyway, please tell me what you think!

Again, I really appreciate your feedback. I love getting favourites and follows. But I also love a good review. They're like my fuel or something. So thanks!

Chapter Six: Capturing Flags, Discovering Dads, and Other Such Crap as That

That night, after dinner was consumed, there was a lot more excitement than seemed typical. It was finally time for the long-awaited game of capture the flag. When the plates were cleared, the horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers cheered and whooped as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion with a banner. It was about ten feet long and glistening grey. On it was a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. Clarisse, Dudley, and another of their siblings ran in the pavilion on the opposite side with their own banner. It was a gaudy red and painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

"Those are the flags?" Percy yelled to Luke over the noise.

"Yeah."

"And do Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" I asked.

"No. Sometimes, other cabins do. But Ares and Athena cabins lead the most."

"So if another cabin catches one, what do they do? Repaint the flag?" Percy asked.

"You'll see." he grinned. "But first, we'll have to get one."

"Who's side are we on?" I asked, hoping it wasn't Ares.

"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena." he grinned. His face almost looked sinister under the dim glow of the torchlight. "Tonight, we'll get the flag from Ares. And you're _both_ going to help."

The teams were announced shortly after that. Athena had made alliances with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Ares had everyone else on their side. Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were surprisingly good athletes. But there were only two of them. Demeter kids, like Neville, loved the outdoors but weren't particularly aggressive. I wasn't particularly worried about Aphrodite's children because they mostly just primped, flirted, sat out by the lake to tan, and gossiped. But there was Tonks to consider. I hadn't got a chance to talk to her but I had seen her train. The girl was as dissimilar to her brothers and sisters as night was to day. She was a scrapper who wasn't afraid of getting her hands dirty or kicking someone where it hurts. I knew I'd have to watch out for her. There were only four Hephaestus kids, luckily. But they were all burly from working in the metal shop. Lastly, there were the Ares kids. There were thirteen of them, including Dudley and Clarise. And all looked as nasty. Chiron's hoof hammered on the marble, bringing silence upon us.

"Heroes." he boomed. "You know the rules. The boundary line is the creek. The entire forest is fair game. All magical items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed. No more than two guards are allowed. You may disarm your prisoners but they cannot be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will be the referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves."

Chiron spread his hands and the tables became covered with equipment. Helmets, bronze swords, spears, and shields. Magical items were allowed, huh? My hand slipped into my pocket where my wand was stuffed. I'd completely forgotten about it until now, transferring it from outfit to outfit with little thought. Squaring myself, I approached Chiron.

"Sir?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, Alex?" he asked.

"You said all magical items were allowed. Does that include wands? Do the underage laws apply here?" I asked. Chiron smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd ask that. The underage laws do not apply here in the United States. They encourage practising out of school. As the objective is to use everything to your advantage, wands are allowed. But I don't suggest you use yours too much. We're here to teach you how to survive even without it. Understand?" he asked sternly.

"Yes, sir." I nodded before rushing off to look for some decent equipment.

"We're really supposed to use all this?" I heard Percy's voice through all the chatter. Grinning, I joined him. He was with Annabeth and Luke.

"We're really supposed to use these?" he asked.

"What else are we supposed to use. Toothpaste?" Annabeth asked, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know. It could definitely blind someone if you've a good aim." I grinned. Annabeth sighed. Luke looked at me as if I were insane.

"Do you really want to get skewered by your cousin and his friends in cabin five? Here, Chiron thought these would fit. You'll both be on boarder patrol." Luke told us. Luke first handed me a shield that was half my size and probably a quarter of my weight. But maybe I was exaggerating. At any rate, I might have been able to use it as a toboggan but I hoped they didn't expect me to run fast. I sighed.

"I can cast a basic shield charm. I'll dislocate my shoulder heaving this thing around." I said, handing it back to Luke who shrugged.

"Lucky." Percy said sulkily. I didn't blame him. "His shield was as large as the backboard on a basketball hoop. He also carried a sword. Luke left us for a moment and then returned with a small bow, a quiver of arrows with blue feathers on the ends, and a long dagger.

"Thanks," I said, accepting them gratefully. Lastly, we all put on our helmets. The people on Athena's side had helmets with blue horsehair plumes on top. The Ares side was represented by red plumes. My helmet was a bit big on me but I supposed it'd have to do.

"Blue team, forward!" Annabeth yelled. Everyone cheered, shook their swords, and followed her down to the southern woods. Percy rushed to intercept Annabeth. Since we'd be on patrol together anyway, I joined him.

"Hey!" he greeted. Annabeth said nothing, she just kept marching on. "So what's the plan? Got any magic items you can loan me?" Annabeth checked her pockets as if making sure one of us didn't snatch something.

"Just watch out for Clarisse's spear. You do _not_ want that thing touching you. Other than that, neither of you have anything to worry about. Has Luke assigned you jobs yet?"

"Yes." I nodded. "Border patrol."

"Whatever that means." Percy interjected.

"It's easy enough. Just stand by the creek, keep the reds away, and leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." Annabeth said smugly.

"But do you?" I teased, though I was partially serious.

"Of course. I _am_ her daughter, if you'll remember." she said indignantly. She left after that without another word. Percy looked a little put out.

"Glad you wanted me on your team." he mumbled.

"Don't think on it, Percy. We'll show them that us _newbies_ will be just fine at patrolling the border." I said encouragingly. He perked up a bit. I was glad I was wearing a tanktop as the night was warm and much more humid than I was used to. The forest was dark and fireflies kept popping in and out of site, acting like natural little snitches. Annabeth rejoined us and stationed us next to a little creek which bubbled over some rocks. Then, she and the rest of the team scattered through the forest, leaving us alone. Percy stood there, awkwardly trying to settle his equipment into a more comfortable grip.

"I feel like an idiot." he sighed.

"So do I. This helmet keeps falling in front of my eyes if I lean my head forward.

"What do we do?" Percy asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Why don't you just stay there and be our first line of defence. I'll climb up into a tree and be the lookout. Then, I can shoot people from the shadows." I grinned.

"Works for me." Percy shrugged. Picking a tree whose first branch was low enough to reach, I heaved myself up. Going up a few branches, I made sure I was hidden decently by the tree's leaves. In the distance, the horn, which I now knew was a conch shell, sounded. All around, I heard shouting and the clanging of swords. A blue plumed Apollo kid raced past our position like a deer on two legs, disappearing into enemy territory. After a moment, I heard a deep canine growl. I shivered, my stomach clenching in dread. The growl sounded familiar. But the growling stopped and I felt whatever had its eye on Percy and I retreating. Suddenly, the underbrush was thrown aside as six Ares warriors came racing out, screaming wildly. Blast! It was so dark that I hadn't seen them. I might not mind the dark but that doesn't mean I see better than anybody else in it.

"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. Her ugly pig eyes, just like Dudley's, glared out the slits in her helmet. She waved a five-foot spear, its barbed tip glowing with a malicious red light. Her siblings, including Dudley, only had the standard issue bronze swords. But that didn't make me feel any better.

They all charged across the stream. Nobody was around to help Percy or I. Taking a deep breath, I strung the bow and let an arrow fly. It hit the helmet of one of the Ares girls, causing her to stumble backwards. Before she could gain her equilibrium, I cast the eat slugs curse Ron had tried to cast on Malfoy last fall. The spell hit its target and the girl doubled over, vomiting up large, slimy slugs.

"Get the freak!" Dudley yelled, figuring that it was me up in the tree.

"Surprise!" I shouted and jumped out. Sailing through the air, the souls of my shoes connected with the armour of an Ares boy. He was knocked onto his back. Before I could gain my balance, I was slammed in the side of the head by Dudley's sword. I groaned and toppled off the boy I'd just slammed, falling into the creek. As I fell, I saw that the other three Ares kids, including Clarisse, were ganging up on Percy. They had him surrounded and Clarisse thrust at him with her spear. But I couldn't help him then. Groaning and standing up slowly, I scowled at Dudley. Casting a quick levitation spell, I moved the bow and arrows out of the water for later use.

"Should have figured the only way you could hit me was like a coward." I taunted him, brandishing the dagger in my right hand.

"You're just weak!" He rebutted, slashing at me with his sword. I grinned and took my wand in my left hand.

"Am I really?" I asked sweetly. "Higgledy-piggledy! Hocus pocus! Abracadabra! Alla kazam! Pow!"

"Stop that!" he whimpered, his movements becoming sloppy. But all I was doing was waving my wand willy-nilly and spouting nonsense phrases.

"Bippity boppity boo!" I cackled. "Vini viti vicci! May the force be with you! Stupefy!" the last one really _was_ a spell. Dudley hit the deck with a great thud, his sword clanging off his helmet. The remaining Ares kids shouted in rage. Some of them broke away from Clarisse and Percy, ganging up on me instead. One of their swords slashed me in the side where I had no armour, tearing a large hole in my shirt and cutting deep into the flesh. I stumbled drunkenly, trying to get my balance. But instead, I found myself right in front of the spear-wielding girl just as she thrust it at Percy's chest. But it hit mine instead. A great, jittery sensation flowed through me and I grinned manically.

"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Clarreeks." I said, deliberately mispronouncing her name as I jumped out of the way, stuffed my wand in a pocket, and picked up my bow and arrows. "That tickled!"

Clarisse thrust at me again in fury but wound up hitting Percy instead. Oops! Percy looked like he'd just about had the life shocked out of him as he stumbled back. The Ares boy I'd flattened earlier was back on his feet and pissed as hell, slashing his sword at Percy's bare arm. He'd cut it rather badly.

"I thought the rules were no maiming?" Percy asked lamely.

"Oops!" the boy said unapologetically. Grinning maliciously, he pushed Percy into the creek. But I could see at once what a mistake that was. Everyone left standing, Clarisse and three of her siblings, were laughing loudly. But Percy was getting up and seemed to be full of energy like I was since I'd got all those volts to my system. Though I hated water, I joined Percy as Clarisse and her cabinmates closed in. Percy swung the flat of his sword at one of the sons of Ares's helmets, knocking it clean off. His hit had been so hard that the Ares boy fell back into the water with a wet plop. Like lightning, I strung my bow and shot an arrow at another. I must have accidentally put some excess electricity in it because the girl jumped like she'd been zapped by a power line. Much like Percy, I thought with grim satisfaction. My energy seemed to have decreased a bit, but not by too much. Then, Percy knocked the last Ares kid standing in the face with his heavy shield. She went down like a sack of sodden potatoes. Enraged, Clarisse lunged forward, her spear blazing red. But Percy caught the shaft in between his sword and the edge of his shield. With a great wrench and an almighty snapping sound, Clarisse's spear split in two, broken and no longer glowing.

"Aaah!" she shrieked. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" She'd have probably said worse but Percy was faster. He slammed her inn the head with the butt of his sword so she stumbled out of the creek. Then, I could hear yelling. People were screaming with elation. What had happened? My question was answered when, seconds later, Luke came into view, racing for the boundary with the Ares flag held tight in his grip. He was flanked by a few others from Hermes who were covering his retreat. A few Apollo kids were behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares kids we'd defeated, except Dudley who was knocked out, got up unsteadily. Clarisse cursed dazedly.

"It was a trick!" she shouted in fury. "A dirty rotten trick!" they staggered after Luke, leaving their brother behind. But it was too late. Everyone ran to the edge of the creek as Luke crossed into friendly territory. Our side, including me, burst into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned silver with a picture of a caduceus in the centre. The blue teamed cheered and some lifted Luke onto their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn. We'd actually won. I was feeling pretty good, even though my adrenalin was wearing off. Percy and I were both about to join in the celebrating when Annabeth's voice came out of nowhere.

"Not bad, heroes." I frowned in thought. She must have an invisibility cloak or something. I wish I had mine but it was still at the Dursleys. That is, of course, if they hadn't burned all my things. Percy looked around in confusion.

"Where the heck did either of you learn to fight like that? Percy, it's like you were flowing from move to move. And Alex... as soon as you got slammed by Clarisse's spear, you turned into the personification of the Energiser Bunny." I blushed at that comparison. I was a bit twitchy, but in a good way. Like I had been shot with liquid caffeine or something. But I could feel it in my very being that I was gonna crash hard after the energy had left me. As I was thinking about my strange spurt of energy, the air shimmered and Annabeth appeared holding a Yankees baseball cap. Percy looked like he was starting to get angry.

"You set us up!" he said indignantly. "You put us here because you knew Clarisse would come after me and Dudley would hunt Alex down. And then, you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out, didn't you?"

"I told you, Percy. Athena always has a plan." she turned to me. "And so do I, Alex."

"Okay, okay. You are the woman of the fighting plan. Congrats." I said half sarcastically, half sincerely.

"Yeah, a plan to get us pulverised." Percy grumbled.

"I did come as fast as I could. I would have jumped in but..." then, her eyes zoomed in on the wound on Percy's arm and the bloody tear in my shirt. "How did you two do that?"

"Slashed in the side." I responded.

"I got cut in the arm with a sword. What do you think I did?"

"Those _were_ wounds. But look, both of you." Annabeth ordered. I turned my head and looked down. The only blood left was what had gotten on my shirt. The wound was scabbed over like it'd been there for days. Then, the scabs flaked off to show a long, faint scar which didn't heal any further. I looked over at Percy whose cut was completely gone. He looked over at me.

"I don't get it." we said at the same time. Annabeth looked to be in deep thought. She looked at Percy first.

"Step out of the water." she ordered us both. Confused, we did as ordered. My state didn't change but Percy suddenly looked bone tired. He swayed dangerously. I ran forward to help steady him, even though he was taller than I was. He jumped in shock, literally.

"Youch, Alex! That _hurt:"_ he cried out. Annabeth frowned and steadied him herself as I stepped away.

"Oh, Styx." she cursed. "This is _not_ good. I didn't want... Percy, I assumed Zeus. Alex... I really should have guessed. But I thought maybe Hades..." Neither Percy or I had time to ask what she meant as a canine growl sounded, though it was much closer. A howl tore through the forest like the sharpest of swords. The cheering died instantly and Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek which I would later realise I'd understood perfectly.

"Stand ready!" I prepared my bow. On the rocks above us was a huge black dog with lava red eyes. Damn! It was even bigger than the one I had faced. It was looking straight at Percy and I. Nobody moved except Annabeth.

"percy, Alex, run!" she hollered. She tried stepping in front of Percy but the hound was too fast. It leapt into the air like an enormous shadow with teeth. A red mist descended over my vision. I was _not_ going to let it hurt anyone, especially Percy who I was beginning to see as a friend. Just as it landed on him, its claws ripping into his armour and chest, I ran forward, wind blowing at my back, with a cry of fury. I didn't have time to string an arrow so I just held one in my left hand, leaving the bow behind. I slammed into the hound with a painful thud and dug the dagger and arrow into its side. The tingling ran through me again, but stronger and the creature writhed. After a minute, I collapsed back onto my bottom just as about forty arrows slammed into its neck. Chiron trotted up between Percy and I, his face grim.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth exclaimed. "That's a hellhound from the fields of punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to..." but she was cut off. For some reason, everyone was staring above my head.

"Is my hair sticking up or something?" I asked awkwardly. Nobody answered. Sighing, I looked up only to see what looked like a hologram of a blazing white lightning bolt. Far above that was a much fainter hologram of a flaming torch.

"Your father is..." Annabeth said quietly. "Oh no. This is bad. This is really, really _bad!"_

"It is determined." Chiron said solemnly as I stood on shaky legs. All around me, campers began kneeling, even if the Ares kids didn't look too pleased.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"Zeus. Lord of the Skies, Master Over Air, King of the Gods. Hail, Alexandria Potter, Daughter of the Lightning God. Legacy of Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft." Chiron said steadily. I felt like I might faint. Zeus? Zeus was my father? Him? He'd broken the oath again? Murmurs rose up from the campers almost immediately.

"Hey, what about the hound?" Percy sounded from his spot on the ground.

"A very good question." Chiron nodded, trying to focus on what else had occurred. "It must have been summoned by someone inside the camp." Luke walked over, his face a mask of shock at both the revelation of my parentage and the fact that someone had summoned the hound.

"It's all their fault! They summoned it together!" Clarisse shouted, pointing at Percy and I. "They were all alone for half an hour, I'll bet."

"Be quiet, child." Chiron told her sharply. The body of the hellhound melted into shadow, soaking into the ground like a disappearing stain of ink.

"You're wounded." Annabeth said to Percy, concerned. "Quick, get in the water."

"I'm okay." Percy protested.

"No you aren't." she shook her head. "Watch this, Chiron."

"Percy, too tired to argue, stepped into the creek as ordered. Everyone, including me, gathered around him. He looked better instantly. The cuts on his chest closed up and there was more life in his eyes. Suddenly, there was a bright light over Percy's head like there had been over my own. Many people gasped in shock. For spinning above my new friend was a glowing green hologram of a trident. If I knew anything about symbols, it was that my father, Zeus, was associated with the lightning bolt. And the trident was associated with one major god, Poseidon.

"Look, I - I don't know why. I'm sorry..." Percy trailed off, not seeing it yet. But he soon realised we weren't watching his wounds heal.

"Percy, look up." I told him quietly. By the time he did, the trident was already fading. But I knew he could see it by the way his sea green eyes widened in shock.

"You to...?" Annabeth trailed off, white with shock. "And bad just got a whole lot worse."

"Another has been determined this night." Chiron said, his voice sounding deep and grave throughout the forest. All around, everyone began kneeling again. Not wanting to show disrespect, I did the same. Some shot me incredulous looks. But I figured I ought to show respect just as anybody else. Being Zeus's daughter didn't make me all high and mighty, above having to be respectful. Okay... so disrespectful is practically my middle name. But even I know where to draw the line.

"My father?" Percy asked, shocked. It was an almost perfect replay of my claiming barely five minutes earlier.

"Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." Chiron intoned.

Shocked murmurs rose up again like the howling wind, growing louder and more unbearable. I gritted my teeth, tamping down my reflex to run off to a quiet place to vent my feelings. Luckily, once our weapons had been dumped off back at the pavilion, Chiron had told us all to skat. As soon as I knew nobody could see me, I ran. I didn't know where but I just knew I needed to vent somehow. Running was all I could do at the moment. Thunder rumbled in the background.

"Oh just shut up!" I screamed, tears making tracks down my cheeks. There was a final, sharp clap as if I was being scolded like a petulant child. But the thunder did abate somewhat. Without conscious thought, my final destination became Thalia's tree. Leaning against it so I was facing camp, I slumped to the ground.

Zeus was my father. The king of gods, lord of the sky. _ Zeus!_ A part of me had kept up hope that this was all one great misunderstanding. That I was able to breach the wards by some kind of fluke. But that part crumbled and died that night. And so did a little piece of the innocence I still had, the innocence I'd been slowly losing since I was a little girl. The innocence that had been chipped away every time I went on one of my so-called adventures at school. My image of the perfect Potter family was shattered as well. What were really the circumstances of my birth? Did my mother ever love James in the first place? Had she cheated on him or had they gotten together after I was born? What was her relationship with Zeus like? Did she love him? Did he love her? Or at least love her as much as he could love a mortal? Or did they just have a night of wild sex and call it quits in the morning? Had Zeus taken advantage of my mother? All these questions needed answers. But I knew I would have to wait and hope for the best.

Blinking away the tears in my eyes, I stared up into the branches of Thalia's tree. That's when it hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. This tree was a representation of Zeus's daughter. My _sister._ My older sister. I had more family than just my father and the other gods. I had a real, honest to gods, half-blood sister. But she never got a chance to live up to her potential. Thalia was a real hero, not a pale imitation of one like I was. But she had been punished by the River Styx just for being the child of an oath breaker. She'd paid for Zeus's indiscretions with what might as well have been her life. Sure, she wasn't totally dead, but she was a tree. A bloody _tree!_

I couldn't help but wonder how the river would deal out my punishment. Had it already? Was my mother's death a direct consequence? WAS it my fault for being born of a forbidden union? Was depriving me of a loving home the River Styx's way of sticking it to Zeus the best way it could? Or was the punishment the horrible obsession Voldemort seemed to have for me? Was he destined to kill me in some awful, gruesome way? Or would I end up like my sister? Stuck as a tree or something worse, never to interact with the living world? Like a bit of seaweed in the ocean which so terrifies me? Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on the rough bark of the trunk. I needed to unload on someone, but I didn't trust anybody else. And I wondered if anybody had visited Thalia's tree. Had they tried talking to her? I couldn't help it, I spoke aloud as if I were speaking to someone's grave. I wanted to talk to her, even if she couldn't talk back.

"Hi." I choked, leaning my cheek on her trunk. I didn't care if it scratched me at the moment. "You don't know me, but I know you. Or I've heard of you, anyway. Ugh, I sound like a mental case. I don't even know if you can hear me. But I have to talk to someone. Let me tell you, it's been one hell of a night."

"Why?" the wind seemed to whisper as it glided through her branches. That's right, I'm calling my sister's tree "her". It is, in a sense. And I'd feel really wrong saying "it".

"Why not would be the question. But I guess I'd better introduce myself. My name's Alexandria Lilium Potter. Most people just call me Alex. But I do get called by my middle name on occasion. It's a variant of my mum's, you see. Her name was Lily. This afternoon, I found out about you and felt very... upset. But I know why now. You see, I'm your little sister. Zeus... he's my father too." saying it aloud, I felt like I was coming closer to believing it. I felt like a real loon as I poured out the tale of the night's happenings to a tree, even if she was my sister. But I felt a little more light than I had before.

"`...And that's my story." I finished after a time, yawning in exhaustion. Without saying anything more, I curled up right there at the roots of my sister's tree. The branches creaked mournfully as I folded my legs. Closing my eyes, I felt the muggy June air enfold me in a warm embrace. It wasn't exactly nurturing like I imagined a mum's would be. But it wasn't what I imagined a strong hug from a dad would be. I imagined it to be the hold of an older sister, one given out to comfort and chase away the younger's nightmares. A way to say, "It'll all be okay." And as I slept, I could almost have imagined I was in the arms of someone who loved me.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:

Hi! Everybody, I just want to say how sorry I am. I haven't updated this story since February which is pathetic. And I'm even more sorry to say that this chapter is just a teaser for Chapter Seven which I am praying I will have done in a few more weeks. I know I've said this on a lot of my other stories as well but I'm facing some major conflict on where exactly I'm going.

The pairing will, unless I'm given a damn good reason, definitely be Alex/Percy. Alex WILL be a part of this book's quest. It was her father's bolt that was taken, after all. You'll see the specifics in the full version of Chapter Seven. But now that the stage is set and I'm venturing into the good stuff, I'm stressing about adding Alex in. I don't want the chapters to be a rehash of the book with an extra OC-LIKE character sloppily copy-pasted in. I want Alex's addition to read as naturally as possible and for cannon to diverge only when it would be feasible with Alex and the HP world existing in this universe. Also, the PJO timeline isn't stuck in my head quite like the HP one is so I have to reference the books a lot. I promise that you will see as few direct quotes or similar paraphrasing as possible. I don't want my chapters to read like dull knock-offs written by an uneducated fangirl.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little taste of what Chapter Seven will be like. I'm sorry if you don't like my description of the inside of Zeus's cabin. However, all the information I could find on it was vague. I had to interpret how the Zeus kids might live in such a bare room myself. If you don't like it, please let me know. I'm still relatively new to the Percy Jackson fandom so some of my knowledge is a bit sketchy at the moment. I'm trying to remedy that. Without any further rambling on my part, here's the teaser. If you have the time, I would appreciate you dropping me a line or two in the review box below. The feedback really helps.

Chapter Seven: Dad's Lost symbol (Teaser)

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Blinking my eyes, I realised it was a bit later than I would usually have slept. Stretching, I rose to my feet. My entire body was stiff and full of kinks from sleeping curled up to a tree all night.

"You aren't exactly cuddly are you, Thalia?" I asked dryly, looking up into her branches. "Well sorry for sleeping on you; I guess I'd better go."

Sighing, I ambled back towards the big house, trying to clear the fog from my head. A part of me wanted to think that last night was a dream. But it wasn't. Zeus was my father and there wasn't anything I could do about it. To top it off, I had to be stuck with one of the worst stepmothers in all of step-motherhood, joy. Add the fact that Hera was also my aunt and the problem was only compounded. I have a bad track record with aunts. But then again, Hestia was my aunt as well, wasn't she? Sure, she hadn't known I was Zeus's second daughter yet but she'd still been nice to me. I grimaced as another thought crossed my mind. Dionysus was my brother. Oh lucky me. My thoughts soured further when I realised that Ares was as well. But then I smirked. I could make Dudley call me "Auntie Alex" if I wanted to. I stifled a mad, hysterical cackle. I didn't need everyone thinking I'd gone insane due to the revenge of the River Styx or something.

By the time I'd reached the Hermes cabin, everybody was awake.

"Where were you last night?" Percy asked, coming up to me. He looked how I felt, conflicted and hellishly confused. Like it was all he could do to not scream an angst-filled "_WHYYYYYYY!"_

"I fell asleep up at my sister's tree." I said ruefully. Percy blinked in confusion before his sea green eyes softened in understanding.

"Oh." he said simply. I nodded in gratitude. I didn't want an "I'm sorry" or a "how sad for you". An "Oh" was just fine in my book.

"You'll be moving into your cabins today." said Luke, coming up to us. A smile flitted across my face. That beautiful cabin was mine to live in. No more sweaty, cluttered Hermes cabin. No more worrying that I was going to be pranked or have something stolen from me. The only sour note was that I couldn't share it with my sister. But a small ray of hope burned in my chest which I couldn't, and didn't, want to snuff out. That maybe, in the future, I could get to know her after all. Really, she wasn't quite dead yet. She was just... tree-a-fied.

"Brilliant." I said aloud. Percy nodded in agreement.

"Chiron will be here soon to escort you. So you two had better pack up." Luke told us. Neither of us had much to pack, just a couple sets of clothes and a bag of toiletries as well as our spoils. And so, a half hour later, I entered my father's cabin for the first time.

I revelled in the beauty and inhaled the stormy scent accompanying it. Right off, I noticed a couple of differences in the cabin. The first time I'd looked in, each alcove had a golden eagle statue in it. The alcoves were at three of the four cardinal points in the room, west, north, and east. The door was at the Southern point. The cabin, on the inside at least, was octagonal. But now, in the northern alcove, a wardrobe had replaced the statue. Also, by the northeast wall, a hammock hung halfway up with a rope ladder snaking up to it. In the hammock was a pillow covered in a silver-grey case as well as a silver-grey sheet poking up over a soft blanket coloured in swirling purple and black. Though the setup was unconventional, I found that I liked it a lot. It would almost be like I was sleeping in air. Grinning, I strode over to the hammock and clambered up the ladder. I sprawled out in the hammock, grinning like a loon. This was my place. No expectations, no stares, nobody evaluating my every move... except perhaps my father. This was my sanctuary. A dark corner of my mind whispered that this was just another thing I was special for, how I couldn't escape the fame even here. But I'd deal with that when I had to. Blinking, I noticed a note attached to the blanket with some sort of sticking charm. It came off easily when I tugged at it. Looking at the sharp, elegant letters, I was relieved to see it was written in Ancient Greek. It was written simply and it was easy enough to read. Easier than English at any rate. The basic wording of the note in English was this:

Alexandria:

Just a gift from Granny. Technically great-great grandmother but that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? The blanket has temperature regulating and self-repair charms on it. And you will never lose it. Your father allowed me to do this for you as you are my legacy. I hope you enjoy it, great-great-granddaughter.

Best of Luck,

Hecate

"_Best of luck?"_ I wondered to myself. What did that mean? Shrugging, I set the note back down. It was probably time for breakfast anyway. Sighing, I climbed back down and exited the cabin. My stomach rumbled with hunger. I wasn't exactly looking forward to eating breakfast where I was 99.8 percent sure I'd be stared at but it wasn't as though I could starve myself or live off nicking strawberries from the vines.

To my immense displeasure, I was beyond correct. I wasn't just stared at as I strode into the pavilion. I was out-right gaped at. Not only that but many of the campers were whispering to one another behind their hands. Though it wasn't like they were particularly quiet. As I headed to table one, I could catch snippets of hushed conversation.

"That's the girl who...?" a young camper asked.

"Zeus's daughter..." another confirmed.

"Doesn't look the part..." another said.

"Ain't there some sort of oath...?"

"The second..." I scowled and tried my best to tune them out. But if they weren't talking about me, they were talking about Percy.

"Two in one night..."

"That's him, that's the boy..."

"Those two don't _look_ like kids of the big three..." Breathing deeply, I finally managed to make my way to the other side of the pavilion on the left-hand side where the Zeus table was located. With a huff, I threw myself onto the bench nearest to Table three. Percy was already there, slumped in his seat right behind me. It was then that I felt greatful the two of us had tables right next to each other. All the odd tables were on one side while the even tables were on the other. As you move through the pavilion, it's clear that the tables are ordered sequentially so that one and three were right by each other followed by five then seven and so-on. Since my table was next to a table with a person I could stand, meals would at least be more bearable. I was glad to have my cabin alone but wasn't exactly happy with the fact that I would always eat alone. As I served myself some bacon and eggs, I turned my head to Percy and spoke.

"Fame sucks."

"Huh?" he jumped as though he didn't realise I was there. He probably didn't now I think about it.

"No-good pain in the arse, fame." I said almost sagely. Percy looked at me quizzically.

"You talk as if you know from experience." he stated. I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"Only on account of me not dying when I should have." I said a touch bitterly. He blinked, turned back to his plate, and speared a sausage with his fork before turning back to face me.

"Not dying when you should have?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion as he popped the beef into his mouth.

"I'm apparently the _only_ person to have survived the killing curse. It killed my dad... or adoptive dad, I guess. It killed my mother. But it only left me with two scars." I said quietly. I didn't want to get into this at breakfast of all times but I supposed I owed Percy a slight explanation after my "fame sucks" comment. Sighing, I moved my right hand with its crescent scar into view for a second before using it to brush aside the hair covering the lightning scar. Percy stayed silent, clearly at a loss for words.

"The curse rebounded on the dark wizard who cast it, defeating him. At least partially. That's why I'm famous. They call me the girl-who-lived. Stupid title, I know. But many wizards aren't exactly one with their imaginations."

"Wow... I guess that really _does_ suck." Percy said after a minute's pause. I snorted back my laughter.

"Nice conclusion, Captain Obvious." I said sarcastically.

"Thanks." he returned the snarky tone. "They're gonna act like we're famous, aren't they?"

"They already are." I scowled. "As much as I hate to acknowledge it.

"Do you get used to it?" he asked uncertainly. I took a deep breath.

"Only if you revel in it. Love it." I told him.

"Do you?" he asked. I scowled and nearly snapped off a scathing retort. But I was fortunately able to force myself to pause and think. He didn't exactly know me. He could have assumed my personality was mainly based around shock and maybe I would be different once I'd regained my equilibrium. Then again, I could think the same of him. So instead, I cranked down my auto-retort to mild.

"I said it was a pain in the arse, didn't I?"

"Guess you did." he nodded in understanding before, by silent agreement, we both turned back to our breakfasts. Another twenty minutes later, Annabeth uncertainly made her way up the isle between tables one and three so she could stand between us.

"I'm still teaching you Ancient Greek." she said by way of a morning greeting. She looked between Percy and I awkwardly. "Are you ready?"

"Sure," I shrugged. Pushing my plate away, I stood up and stepped over the bench. Percy was just a few seconds behind me. Silently, the three of us left the pavilion.

Annabeth's awkwardness did not abate throughout the lesson. She kept shooting us each speculative looks. Also, every now and again, Annabeth would look at me with an unreadable expression. I couldn't make anything of it. Now, I think it might have been something like pitty or indignation. Here I was at camp, hale and hardy while my sister, who I would later find out was her friend, was stuck as a tree. But then again, I'd as good as lost Thalia before I knew her. But that's just speculation through hindsight, I suppose.

After the lesson which didn't last as long as usual, Annabeth shooed us off to the sword and spear arena where many of the Hermes kids were. We picked out what best suited us and looked for someone willing to help with our training. But most gave the two of us a wide berth, clearly having no desire to assist. Luckily, Luke and one of the Leonides twins awaited us.

"Percy, you're with me." Luke motioned him over.

"My sister and I use the same weapons." the Leonides girl said flatly. Judging by the stony expression on her face, she was Janessa, AKA Brighteyes. If not for the two years I'd spent around the Weasley twins, I would have found it almost unnerving exactly how alike the Leonides sisters were in appearance. I couldn't tell any difference other than their stances and facial expressions.

"Really?" I asked, somewhat perplexed. I couldn't imagine the sisters, as different as their personalities were, to use the same types of swords.

"Don't be so surprised. Lesson 1, Sparky. A weapon is _not_ defined by just one style." Brighteyes informed me. I huffed in irritation at the nickname.

"The name's Alex." I grumbled.

"Don't care." Brighteyes yawned. "Neither my sister or I will call you by name until you've earned it. Got that, Sparky? And do you understand the concept of lesson 1?" she asked. I scowled but allowed myself a nod.

"I suppose that makes sense." I admitted reluctantly. It wasn't as if I knew anything about weapons. The most I'd ever done before coming to camp was stick a sword up in the mouth of a 60-foot snake. There was no style or finesse in it. After all, I'd managed to get a poison-filled tooth stuck in my arm. If I knew what I was doing, maybe that wouldn't have happened.

"Good. You'll see what I mean when we spar." Brighteyes allowed herself a grin. Before I could do anything, she lunged. It was then that I was able to appreciate just how much like any other child of Hermes Brighteyes was despite her seemingly apathetic personality. Since I had no warning, it was easy for Brighteyes to knock both swords out of my loose grip before I could raise any sort of defence.

"I wasn't ready." I said through clenched teeth. She rolled her eyes.

"Lesson 2, always be ready. Never let your guard down. There's no such thing as a fair fight, you understand?" she asked me. I nodded minutely. "Good. Again!"

This time, I was able to put up a bit of a defence. I tried fighting back. Sometimes, I'd catch an opening and try to take advantage of it. But Brighteyes blocked and rebutted without so much as a twitch of her nose or a shift in her expression. At first, it was just weird. But after awhile, it went from unnerving to downright annoying. Brighteyes's quiet, Fluid style was just as frustrating as Snoozy's loud, erratic one. After only a few minutes, I was yet again disarmed. Brighteyes allowed herself a little smirk.

"Here's lesson 3 for you, Sparky. Keep your head. Don't allow yourself to get flustered or perturbed by your opponent's actions. There are people such as my sister who use distraction as a tactic. But then, there are people such as myself who use some form or another of intimidation. Admit it, Sparky. It bothered you how casual I was batting away your pitiful attempts at swordplay, didn't it? You don't need to receive the evil eye to be intimidated." she told me with the same sort of casual ease a reporter uses to relay the next week's weather report. I grumbled inarticulately under my breath but had to concede that Brighteyes had a point.

"So what now?" I asked her. She grinned a devil's grin.

"My sister and I get to teach you some _proper_ technique now." a chipper voice sounded from behind me. I jumped and turned around so fast I nearly stumbled over my own feet. There stood Snoozy with a manic little grin. I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine.


End file.
